Giannini, Nero and Aiello take their act to the Italian Contemporary Film Fest
By Jim Slotek
Giancarlo Giannini
The food was fantastic and the prosecco flowed at the black-tie closing-night gala of the Italian Contemporary Film Festival at Toronto's Ritz-Carlton June 16. And some of the world's most famous Italians (and Frank D'Angelo) indulged their inner ham.
Danny Aiello in lounge lizard mode at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival in Toronto
Danny Aiello sang a lounge number, Franco Nero did stand-up comedy, Giancarlo Giannini said a few gracious words. And tireless, self-promoting low-budget filmmaker D'Angelo (Sicilian Vampire) even got up and bellowed Just A Gigolo (sorry, we failed to capture that last one)
It was a free-spirited, at times joyously-cheesy, memorable evening.
On the film side, my fellow Toronto Film Critics Association jurors and I chose Fiore (Flower) - Claudio Giovannesi's affecting film about a teenage girl in a reformatory - as best film. The People's Choice Award went to In Guerra Per Amore (At War With Love) - a romantic-comedy set amid the U.S. military's deal-making with the Mafia to help take back Sicily from the Nazis.
Original-Cin heartily recommends both movies. And we hope you enjoy the entertainment.
Jim Slotek is a former Toronto Sun columnist, movie critic, TV critic and comedy beat reporter. He’s been a scriptwriter for the NHL Awards, Gemini Awards and documentaries, and was nominated for a Gemini Award for comedy writing on a special (the NHL Awards). Prior to the Sun, he worked at the Ottawa Citizen as an entertainment reporter.