92 screenings, 22 meetings with 39 international and Italian guests and 13 retrospectives, for a total of over 100,000 spectators: these are the numbers of the Ninth Edition of the Cinema in the Square organized by the kids of Piccolo America.
For once we deliberately and willingly give the numbers: the record ones de Cinema in the square, whose ninth edition ended yesterday and which attracted over 100,000 admissions, divided into four screening locations, in a period in which cinema is struggling to restart. That’s not all, but let’s leave it to the press release to talk about the extraordinary results obtained from the passion of a group of guys, those of Little America Foundationdriven by Valerio Carocci. Also many guests, Italian and international, who came to meet the public and talk about their films.
Cinema in Piazza 2023 closes with record numbers
92 screenings, 22 meetings with 39 international and Italian guests and 13 retrospectives, for a ninth edition that has exceeded 100,000 admissions. The film event organized and promoted by the Piccolo America Foundation enlivened the summer of Rome from 2 June to 16 July, in three places in the city, from the center to the periphery, illuminated by the light of the projector and by the warmth of the public: free screenings in Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere, Cervelletta Park in Tor Sapienza and Monte Ciocci Park in Valle Aurelia, with special events at Cinema Troisi, open all year round 24 hours a day. During the event, which came to a close on Sunday 16 July, viewers rediscovered the beauty of sharing in front of the big screen and an open and exciting dialogue with the artists involved, thanks to special encounters, free and freely accessible screenings, retrospectives dedicated to authors o genres and films in the original language with subtitles in Italian, or in English when Italian works, making the cultural offer accessible also to the many tourists of the city.
“International guests of great importance and lifelong friends took turns on the stages of Trastevere, Cervelletta and Monte Ciocci, giving spectators exciting meetings and debates, and the possibility of discovering, free of charge, works never seen on the big Italian screens, for over 90 nights of great cinema. Eleven years ago a group of young people decided to give a space back to the city and today the Piccolo America Foundation was born from that experience, which has worked to continue bringing cinema to the squares. A story of passion and of bureaucracy, which has passed through various places where culture did not exist and which have been redeveloped, if not even made accessible, by our reality, which works every day at Cinema Troisi. In these spaces screens have been hoisted, which once again this summer they lit up every evening, from Wednesday to Sunday. After eleven years, those kids have grown up believing in the power and importance of this event. We can only consider ourselves rewarded by the large participation of the public who filled our rooms every evening squares and by the extraordinary words of international guests”, he declares Valerio CarocciPresident of the Piccolo America Foundation.
The enthusiasm of the guests of the Cinema in the square
De Il Cinema in Piazza, which concluded with a double meeting with the Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyenin Monte Ciocci with his The kingdom and at the Cinema Troisi with the success of 2023 the beaststhe words and meetings of an incredible edition will remain in the memory: Alessandro Borgo that during the projection of Into the Wildenchanted by the sight of the ever so full cerebellum, said “what I see is incredible, thank you all. Long live Cinema America, long live cinema in general and down with all those who fight against cinema. Seeing so many of you spurs us so much to making cinema to create situations like these, to exchange opinions and ideas”, followed by Emile Hirsch who, citing his character, confirmed “I think that happiness is really real when it is shared, it gives much more satisfaction”. It’s still Ari Aster “What these guys are doing is truly heroic and necessary. I am moved to see so many people sharing the vision of a film in such a magical place”, just as magical and casual was the meeting at Villa Borghese with the actress of his first movie, Toni Collette; Darren Aronofsky who greeted the audience with a warm “Hello Rome, I’m very excited to be here”. Or the words of Fabio D’Innocenzo who excitedly declared to the public “Il Piccolo America exists to offer you these parallel visions of the contemporary. This is culture, we are in one of the most beautiful squares in Rome”, together with his brother Damiano who said he was “very happy and proud that all this is happening today”. And not only that, the singer Gianni Morandi, Paolo Sorrentinohappy to state next to the interpreter of It was the hand of God, Philip Scotti, “the reason I’m here is this audience of young people”; Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan which, surprisingly accompanied by Casey Affleckwinner of the Academy Award for Best Actor in the Manchester by the Seasaid “Rome is my favorite city in the world! Coming from New York and seeing so many people for my film means a lot, it’s really moving and I’m grateful,” the Norwegian director Erik Poppe to Cervelletta “it’s wonderful to see you here in this place, it’s something that would be impossible in Norway because it’s raining and cold”; and then the Oscar Award Giuseppe Tornatore, Jean-Pierre Jeunet with the world premiere of the restored version of his Delicatessenthe British director Joanna Hogg, Julie Taylor and Academy Award-winning composer Elliot Goldenthalthe documentary maker Julien Temple, Bertrand Bonello, Brady Corbetthe Oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell and the list could go on and on.
“Cinema in the Square is an event born thanks to small sponsorships of Trastevere’s commercial activities and has come to involve international realities and guests from all over the world, fascinated by the warm welcome they have found. However, a project that has no intention to limit itself to repeating what was done in previous seasons, but rather aspires to increasingly improve the quality of the cultural offer.A summer initiative which, in contrast with others, has always looked to an inclusive use, since it is free, and not exclusive of public land, focusing on the cultural offer and not on the excessive exploitation of the administration of food and drink. In a city where the possibilities of finding private sponsorships are not sufficient to guarantee economic sustainability for similar social services, we can only reiterate the It is important that the economic support of public bodies never fails, otherwise there would no longer be the conditions to continue this work. In this context, we renew our thanks to Roma Capitale for having contributed, in part and for the first year, to the realization of the ninth edition of Il Cinema in Piazza” he concludes Carocci.