Rome’s International Film Festival has a new director. Does that mean a new philosophy? In truth, apart from emphasising its strengths, which we needed to do and which has allowed us to alter the number of films presented (focusing on three key
categories that host only world premières), there are no major structural changes in the 2012 edition. Any innovations or adjustments in that respect will only come as a result of further scrutiny.
However, when you have to create a major film event like the Rome festival you face a whole series of questions all the time. Problems of infrastructure and finance can only be solved on a long-term basis at a later stage, not in the course of this edition, which has been put together in something of a rush. Other problems will have to be tackled this year as far as possible, such as the meaning of the festival and the need for one; its connection with various types of audience; the re-opening of some distribution channels for decentralised, independent, highly expressive films; and the desire to establish a form of authentic Italian cinema that is free within the bounds of its own creative inspiration.
The only way to do this is to make sure we base our work methods on the principle of complete openness to experience. Take the necessary risks; unearth forgotten solutions; experiment new ideas without making a song and dance of it; give way to the uniqueness of the films without hiding behind ideologies; be ready always to acknowledge contradictions and contaminations without obliterating memories of images and pages. And we must free ourselves from the illusion of a ‘universal’ language of film and instead take part in a dialogue between different ways of ‘filmmaking’, different cultures of producing images.
We had – my dynamic team and I, that is – just over four months in which to find the best ways of infusing energy into our relationship with filmmakers and distributors. We also had to look at our potential audiences not as an element to be taken for granted but as a component of demand in constant renewal. This led us to develop a programme that we think has a clear and individual identity: our solution has been to aim for judicious syncretism, allowing every opportunity to foster a close, watchful and passionate response.
Pure, uniform, absolute are qualities that didn’t interest us because they are unproductive. Authenticity lies in the opposite direction, through the contamination of languages, styles and techniques. What was important in this respect was not simply quality per se (although we were obstinate in our pursuit of this ideal), but also the quantity of forms of expression and the unlimited possibilities of combining them. The result is a multi-faceted festival, one that is therefore often agreeably contradictory. Alive.
Because we had to work so fast we were forced, right at the start, to establish a series of priorities. We had to choose which sites should be given visibility and how. We had to create, tentatively, step by step, a map of cinema sites that would lead to new visual configurations. We had to constantly test new means and new methods of viewing, finally skirting the old objectives and introducing a new competition category (CinemaXXI: cinema in the present, in our times; and also, expanded cinema) that would accommodate another line of submissions again.
We believe that the Rome festival serves a purpose in that it comes at the right moment to fill the gap between the late-summer and mid-winter festivals and takes place in the Auditorium and the MAXXI museum, a neighbourhood chosen to become home to the growing Arts Park. Although the event has a short history, this has provided the means to highlight the enormous vitality unleashed by the experience of sharing a film and to encourage new ways of bringing people together. It is a demonstration of what can be achieved with Rome as starting point and working with its willing, curious and sensitive public. From this basis we can begin to outline new horizons for the future of the festival, and beyond.
Marco Müller
Rome’s International Film Festival Art Director