Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Cruise Among the Hollywood Stars to Have Been Feted at Taormina Film Festival
The Italian mainland boasts a host of film festivals from the giants like Venice, Torino and Rome to the specialist cinephile celebrations like the Bologna Cinema Ritrovato and Pordenone’s annual celebration of silent cinema. But few of them boast as beautiful and historical a setting as the ancient amphitheater that hosts the screenings of the Taormina Film Festival, which celebrates its 71st edition this year.
The Greco-Roman theater, which once saw spectators enjoying the spectacle of gladiators fighting ferocious beasts, now serves as an open air cinema where viewers have watched the likes of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Twisters.” Sometimes, Mount Etna will erupt in the distance, spouting plumes of molten lava and stealing the show. With such ancient history in mind, here’s a run through of some milestones in the admittedly shorter history of the Sicilian film festival:
● 1957 – The film festival, which had been established in the city of Messina two years earlier, begins to include Taormina as part of the “Messina and Taormina International Cinema Festival.” The Silver Charybdis (Cariddi d’Argento) awards are given to the best film, director, actor and actress and the top Italian honors – the Davids di Donatello – are also awarded as part of the celebrations.
● 1962 – With the likes of Dino di Laurentiis raking in the prizes, Hollywood glamour is provided by Anthony Perkins and Marlene Dietrich. The most eagerly awaited star, however, is Audrey Hepburn who has been invited to receive an award for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The sixties would see glamorous film stars such as James Stewart, Cary Grant and Sophia Loren spend memorable nights at the festival, as well as the advent of televised events which increase the visibility and importance of the festival nationally.
● 1967 – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton arrive at Taormina at the height of their international fame and check into their hotel, the San Domenico Palace (long before “The White Lotus” is filmed there), with 157 items of luggage, such is their excess. They are to receive acting awards for Franco Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” but a reenactment of the film’s decidedly violent gender politics plays out at the hotel when an argument between the battling Burtons escalates to such an extent that Taylor concludes it by crowning Burton with a handy mandolin.
● 1976 – Australian filmmaker Peter Weir breaks through to international acclaim when his film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” screens at Taormina and wins the Golden Charybdis for best picture. The success of the film serves as a launching pad for the director, who goes on to make such classics as “The Truman Show” and “Dead Poets Society.”
● 2000 – Each audience member is given a candle to light and when Tom Cruise mounts the stage he is greeted by the sight of a thousand candles burning and the sound of “Happy Birthday” being sung to him. It’s not a bad way to spend your 38th birthday – Tom was born on the 3rd of July, missing the 4th by a whisker. The audience are rewarded with a screening of “Mission: Impossible 2,” the much maligned gun-fu rich sequel in the franchise, directed by John Woo.
● 2012 – A new artistic director Tiziana Rocca takes the reins of the festival, only to find the public administration, which usually funds the festival, heavily in debt to the point of bankruptcy. Despite having to resort to private sponsorship to keep the festival going, Rocca will continue to find guests of huge international fame such as Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp and screen films such as “Man of Steel” and “The Lone Ranger.”
● 2025 – Having seen an almost annual turnover of artistic directors – 15 artistic directors in 17 years – Rocca returns to the helm in the hope of reinvigorating the event. The prospects look hopeful, as Martin Scorsese is set to receive a lifetime achievement award, his first ever visit to the festival. Helen Hunt, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Douglas and Olivia Wilde are also to receive honors.
The Taormina Film Festival takes place from June 10-14.
The Greco-Roman theater, which once saw spectators enjoying the spectacle of gladiators fighting ferocious beasts, now serves as an open air cinema where viewers have watched the likes of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Twisters.” Sometimes, Mount Etna will erupt in the distance, spouting plumes of molten lava and stealing the show. With such ancient history in mind, here’s a run through of some milestones in the admittedly shorter history of the Sicilian film festival:
● 1957 – The film festival, which had been established in the city of Messina two years earlier, begins to include Taormina as part of the “Messina and Taormina International Cinema Festival.” The Silver Charybdis (Cariddi d’Argento) awards are given to the best film, director, actor and actress and the top Italian honors – the Davids di Donatello – are also awarded as part of the celebrations.
● 1962 – With the likes of Dino di Laurentiis raking in the prizes, Hollywood glamour is provided by Anthony Perkins and Marlene Dietrich. The most eagerly awaited star, however, is Audrey Hepburn who has been invited to receive an award for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The sixties would see glamorous film stars such as James Stewart, Cary Grant and Sophia Loren spend memorable nights at the festival, as well as the advent of televised events which increase the visibility and importance of the festival nationally.
● 1967 – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton arrive at Taormina at the height of their international fame and check into their hotel, the San Domenico Palace (long before “The White Lotus” is filmed there), with 157 items of luggage, such is their excess. They are to receive acting awards for Franco Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” but a reenactment of the film’s decidedly violent gender politics plays out at the hotel when an argument between the battling Burtons escalates to such an extent that Taylor concludes it by crowning Burton with a handy mandolin.
● 1976 – Australian filmmaker Peter Weir breaks through to international acclaim when his film “Picnic at Hanging Rock” screens at Taormina and wins the Golden Charybdis for best picture. The success of the film serves as a launching pad for the director, who goes on to make such classics as “The Truman Show” and “Dead Poets Society.”
● 2000 – Each audience member is given a candle to light and when Tom Cruise mounts the stage he is greeted by the sight of a thousand candles burning and the sound of “Happy Birthday” being sung to him. It’s not a bad way to spend your 38th birthday – Tom was born on the 3rd of July, missing the 4th by a whisker. The audience are rewarded with a screening of “Mission: Impossible 2,” the much maligned gun-fu rich sequel in the franchise, directed by John Woo.
● 2012 – A new artistic director Tiziana Rocca takes the reins of the festival, only to find the public administration, which usually funds the festival, heavily in debt to the point of bankruptcy. Despite having to resort to private sponsorship to keep the festival going, Rocca will continue to find guests of huge international fame such as Russell Crowe and Johnny Depp and screen films such as “Man of Steel” and “The Lone Ranger.”
● 2025 – Having seen an almost annual turnover of artistic directors – 15 artistic directors in 17 years – Rocca returns to the helm in the hope of reinvigorating the event. The prospects look hopeful, as Martin Scorsese is set to receive a lifetime achievement award, his first ever visit to the festival. Helen Hunt, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Douglas and Olivia Wilde are also to receive honors.
The Taormina Film Festival takes place from June 10-14.