3 months ago
The Taormina Film Festival, which is 1 of Italy’s oldest movie celebrations, has undergone galore makeovers complete nan years.
Held since nan mid 1950s successful nan Sicilian edifice that precocious sewage a promotional boost arsenic nan location of “The White Lotus” Season Two, this storied summertime fest boasts an 8,000-seat open-air ancient Greek amphitheater successful nan protector of Sicily’s progressive Mt. Etna volcano, wherever successful 2000 Tom Cruise stood connected shape greeted by hundreds of lit candles and a opinionated ovation to observe his 38th day while he was promoting “Mission: Impossible 2.”
Ups and downs followed, arsenic respective chiefs took nan Taormina reins complete nan the ensuing decades, until much precocious nan arena fell disconnected nan world radar.
Enter Barrett Wissman, a Texan who for nan past 20 years has been nan president of IMG Artists, which reps classical musicians, dancers and performing artists, and is progressive successful coordinating tours and producing festivals. Wissman – who has been based successful Italy for years, wherever he’s been progressive successful nan section euphony milieu – is Taormina’s caller main executive and co-artistic director.
For Taormina’s upcoming 69th version – which will tally June 24-July 1 – Wissman has secured nan Italian premiere of “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” pinch nan main cast, including Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge successful tow, and Cannes Film Festival opener “Jeanne du Barry,” for which head and star Maiwenn is group to make nan trek.
There will besides beryllium nan European premiere of A.V. Rockwell’s Sundance prize-winner “A Thousand and One” starring Teyana Taylor, who is expected; nan Italian premiere of Lisa Cortes’ “Little Richard: I Am Everything” doc astir nan stone n’ rotation icon; and nan motorboat of Italian drama “The Worst Days” by celebrated multi-hyphenate Edoardo Leo.
Other highlights see retros dedicated to John Landis, who has selected nan titles himself, and to nan long-running relationship and collaboration betwixt character Willem Dafoe and head Abel Ferrara, some of whom person adjacent ties to Italy.
Bella Thorne has been recruited to impermanent curate 1 of Taormina’s gala evenings pinch a typical programme of short films, including her ain directorial debut, “Paint Her Red.” She will beryllium inviting artists, celebrities, influencers and different talent pinch their works.
Wissman, successful his first question and reply pinch nan world press, said to Variety astir his efforts to put Taormina backmost connected nan map.
What drew you to nan situation of rebooting Taormina?
Well, it’s rather a situation because they called maine 3 months earlier nan commencement of nan festival, and we astir apt only closed my statement 2 months ago. So, yes, it’s a large challenge, and it’s a large risk. But what made maine willing was nan operation of nan pedigree, nan place, and my knowing a small spot astir doing events successful Italy and creating a focal constituent arsenic a level for talent. I thought, “Well, what could beryllium a amended spot and a amended mounting pinch nan pedigree and nan inheritance that it has?” That operation of factors really makes for 2 ingredients retired of respective basal to make a awesome event. So, I thought, “This could beryllium a awesome arena successful nan future, if we’re allowed to person a fewer years to negociate it and return it to that point, fixed my experience.”
What’s your accuracy and really is it reflected successful nan lineup?
In position of nan elements that we have, erstwhile you look astatine a show for illustration this, 1 has to beryllium very delicate to being a overseas creator head successful a state for illustration Italy, wherever this doesn’t hap often. So, nan first point 1 needs to deliberation astir is you can’t conscionable person overseas films, and you can’t conscionable person Italian films because this spot is very international. It attracts group from everywhere, truthful you person to person a equilibrium of content.
What are immoderate elements of this year’s lineup that you are peculiarly proud of?
We person everything from retrospectives to Italian premieres, European premieres, and world premieres. And we were evidently successful successful attracting nan Disney feature, “Indiana Jones,” which was difficult to do, because it’s a large commercialized finance for them. Convincing them to return that connected and to travel backmost to Taormina aft they utilized to do a batch here. And to return nan consequence to travel backmost pinch specified an important movie for them was nary mini feat. I mean, it would’ve been very easy for them to do conscionable a awesome premiere successful Rome aliases Milan. But I sat down pinch Daniel Frigo, Disney’s CEO for Italy, and aft our discussion, he was consenting to springiness america nan chance. Frigo was astir backmost successful nan glory days of nan festival. We evidently person a French movie coming, “Jeanne du Barry,” and Italy is nan 2nd astir important marketplace for French-speaking films. We person various different films and breathtaking things that we’re doing, including nan 3 Italian titles premiering and “A Thousand and One” pinch Teyana Taylor. So, I deliberation successful a two-month period, we’ve been capable to put together a very charismatic mix.
Are nan Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbons) prizes awarded by nan Italian movie journalists back?
Another constituent is that we’ve started bringing backmost Taormina’s roots and historically they utilized to ever person nan Nastri d’Argento Awards successful this town. I’ve worked pinch Laura Delli Colli (who heads Italian movie journalists national SNGCI) to put a ft successful nan doorway towards bringing them backmost to Taormina. We’re going to do this ceremony pinch nan Nastri connected nan past nighttime by having a typical arena astir “La Stranezza” (“Strangeness”) [Roberto Andò’s prizewinning deed movie toplining Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”) arsenic nan Nobel-prize-winning playwright Luigi Pirandello] pinch Toni Servillo coming. That’s different constituent that I’m proud of because it’s very important for nan Italian marketplace and very important connected a nationalist level to bring those backmost to Taormina.
Is this nan preamble to having nan afloat Nastri ceremonial successful Taormina adjacent year?
That’s my desire. Yes.
This year’s version is somewhat embryonic, but really do you spot Taormina shaping up?
My attack – whether it’s successful nan good arts aliases euphony aliases theatre aliases movie – has ever been connected nan talent and processing relationships pinch talent complete time. Not needfully processing a narration programmatically pinch a studio, aliases a definite producer, but pinch nan talent itself and making it thing wherever they tin telephone maine and say, “Barrett, I really want to do thing this year.”
Back successful nan days erstwhile I ran this arts show successful Cortona, it became good known and 1 of nan reasons is I did a batch of projects pinch actors. Anthony Hopkins, for example, would telephone maine and say, “Barrett, I’m doing immoderate activity now arsenic a musician aliases a composer. I’d for illustration to characteristic immoderate things that I’m doing. Can you thief me?” I would opportunity yes because it’s Anthony Hopkins and we developed a relationship.
So, I’ve done immoderate activity pinch Bella. She said, “I really want to show this first short that I person done arsenic a director, and will you thief maine do that?” I said, “Yes,” and past nan chat developed into her helping to curate that evening because she has truthful galore relationships pinch young talent.
Taormina historically has been an Italian launching pad for summertime releases. How important is this facet going to beryllium going forward?
I don’t want this show agelong word to beryllium only astir large commercialized summertime films. I want that to beryllium benignant of an exclamation constituent that tin beryllium what turbocharges it. I deliberation that that’s an constituent of Taormina because it’s specified a cinematic place. I mean, it’s truthful beautiful successful that theatre and it’s awesome for nan studios to beryllium capable to merchandise large films there. So that will ever beryllium portion of it. Let’s telephone it 20% aliases 25% of nan event. But speech from that, though, backmost to what I said, I want to to beryllium nan friend of talent and I want to return risks pinch independent films. Films that are not ostensibly ever going to entreaty to nan immense wide public, but mightiness beryllium made by really well-known filmmakers, aliases involving well-known actors and actresses but thing that they’re doing connected nan cutting edge.
So, I really position this arsenic thing that tin attraction connected independent efforts, align pinch talent truthful that they tin travel to maine and activity connected things complete time. Also, we evidently didn’t person clip this twelvemonth to put together a title because who tin put together a title successful 2 months? But successful nan future, we mightiness person competitions, though I want them to beryllium very focused.
(Picture below: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton astatine Taormina successful 1967, and Tom Cruise astatine Taormina successful 2000)
Getty
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
