San Joaquin Film Society Announces Cinema Italia 2009 Official Selection and Spring Gala, February 21 to 23, 2009

The San Joaquin Film Society announces the 2009 SJFS Spring Gala and the Official Selection of Cinema Italia series, to take place February 21 to 23, 2009 at the Stockton Empire Theatre.
SJFS Spring Gala will be held on the Opening Night of Cinema Italia, on February 21, 2009, and will be an exquisite celebration featuring the highly-anticipated announcement of The Official Selection of the first 100 films of May 2009’s San Joaquin International Film Festival, the California Central Valley’s premier celebration of global cinema. Guests at the Gala will be treated to complimentary Italian-American appetizers and fine wine.
Experience three nights of Cinema Italia, from February 21 to 23, 2009: Opening with Silvio Soldini’s “Days and Clouds,” (pictured above) the 5-time, David di Donatello Award-nominated (Italian Oscar®) drama about a well-to-do Italian family in a time of economic hardships after the breadwinning husband is fired from his high-paying job; a retrospective screening of Ferzan Ozpetek’s “Facing Windows,” about a married bookkeeper’s constant desire for her handsome neighbor and a friendship with a Jewish Holocaust survivor who changed her life; Agostino Ferrente’s keepsake of the heart-warming, cross-cultural creation of “The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio;” and Il Film Corto, a rare and riveting, discovery collection of six short films from rising and new Italian directors making USA and California premieres, including Andrea Lodovichetti’s “Under My Garden” - winner of Spike Lee’s 2008 Babelgum Online Film Festival Looking For Genius Award, about a boy’s passion for insects and desire to solve a local murder mystery.
The eclectic collection share the themes of family, immigration, romance, friendship, cultural exchange, globalization, the economy, history, coming-of-age, sports, and ethical issues.
Feature Films

1. “Giorni e nuvole / Days and Clouds” by Silvio Soldini (Italy, Switzerland - 2008) Spring Gala - Opening Night

2. “La Finestra di fronte / Facing Windows” by Ferzan Ozpetek (Italy, Turkey, Portugal, UK - 2003)

3. “L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio / The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio” by Agostino Ferrente (Italy - 2006)
Il Film Corto - Italian Short Films Discovery Programme
4. “Il Malato / Sick of It” by Antonello Schioppa (Italy - 2007) USA Premiere
5. “Lo Zio / The Uncle” by Duccio Chiarini (Italy, 2008)
6. “Oggi ho altro da fare / Today I Have Something Else to Do” by Antonello Schioppa (Italy - 2007) USA Premiere
7. “Sotto il mio giardino / Under My Garden” by Andrea Lodovichetti (Italy, 2007) California Premiere
8. “Voci di donne Native e Migranti / Voices of Native Italian and Migrant Women” by Rossella Piccinnio (Italy, 2008) USA Premiere
9. “Wanted in Rome” by Rossella De Venuto and Ji Un Choi (Italy, 2008) USA Premiere