Oscar-winning Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore announces maiden visit to India

Oscar-Winning Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore is all set visit India in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation and he said that he is happy to visit the country.

Tornatore said in a statement: "I am so happy to be coming to India for the first time. I have known about the amazing work of the Film Heritage Foundation in preserving and restoring India's cinematic heritage.

He is also pleased that the Film Heritage Foundation is partnering with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Mumbai for "Cinema Italian Style", a festival of Italian film heritage in Mumbai that will include some of Tornatore's films.

The event will begin from September 27 and will end on 29 in Mumbai at Regal Cinema, Mumbai.

He said: "I was delighted to hear that my film "Cinema Paradiso" is known and loved in India and I am honoured that my films will be presented alongside the films of great Italian masters like Vittorio de Sica, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini and Sergei Leone."

The filmmaker added: "I have been told that the Film Heritage Foundation will be presenting their second Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinema Projection and it would be my pleasure to present the award to the winning projectionist at the opening of the festival in Mumbai."

The festival will be headlined by legendary Italian filmmaker and Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore for its inaugural edition.

The 68-year-old cinema legend will present the FHF Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinema Projection and will not only helm an interactive masterclass for budding film students but also deliver an exclusive sit-down fireside chat for film aficionados and the Indian film fraternity.

To celebrate Giuseppe Tornatore's inaugural visit to India, the festival will include a mini Tornatore retrospective and will include screenings of his cult classics such as Cinema Paradiso (1988), Malèna (2000) and (2021).

The three-day festival programme is a cinephile's feast that will showcase restored films of great Italian masters including Luchino Visconti's "Senso" (1954), Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" (1960), Vittorio de Sica's "Marriage Italian Style" (1964) and Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time in America" (1984).

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Filmmaker and Director, Film Heritage Foundation stated: "Film Heritage Foundation is delighted to share that a legend of Italian cinema, Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore has agreed to come to Mumbai for his first visit to India in support of the foundation and the cause of film preservation."

Dungarpur stated that during Tornatore's time in Mumbai, he will present the 4 K restoration of his film "Cinema Paradiso".

"Watching these beautifully restored classics will remind the world that cinema is an art form that must be preserved and restored for future generations to enjoy. We are privileged that Giuseppe Tornatore whose film Cinema Paradiso pays tribute to film projectionists has agreed to present the Film Heritage Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinema Projection at the opening of the film festival."

Francesca Amendola, Director, Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Mumbai states, "If the stars of the great Italian cinema will shine under the sky of Mumbai during such exceptional 3 days' event, it is thanks to the precious partnership with Film Heritage Foundation, which has been collaborating for years with the best cinema conservators, among which the Italian ones stand out."

(With inputs from IANS)