Diamonds are Forever - Film from the Festival dei Popoli Archives

Diamonds are Forever is not only our section dedicated to the great cinema of the past: the whole of its titles makes up a new journey, a path throughout images that re-emerge in new configurations, ‘diamonds’ opening up fresh connections with other images as well as new outlooks.

The common thread linking the various films in the section - curated by Daniele Dottorini - is the ability that each of them has to reshape the idea of Time, making the Present, Past and Future intersect and sometimes mix, creating narratives that are not afraid to play with time or that reject its linearity.

Out of the Present, by Andrei Ujică (Belgium, Germany, Russia, France, 1994, 75’)
In 1991, the world witnesses the collapse of the Soviet Union Empire. In the midst of the general upheaval, everyone seems to have forgotten about the cosmonaut who remained in orbit around the Earth. Scheduled for 15/06.

Le Souvenir d’un avenir, by Chris Marker, Yannick Bellon (France, 2001, 42’)
A journey through time (in the short 20th century) through the photos of the extraordinary photographer Denise Bellon. Scheduled for 17/06.

Ulysse, by Agnès Varda (France, 1982, 21’)
Starting with a photo taken many years earlier, Agnès Varda makes a double journey, back and forth in time, to discover the mystery behind the stolen images. Scheduled for 17/06.

The Mesmerist, by Bill Morrison (USA, 2003, 16’)
Extraordinary narrative and visual experiment obtained from an old silent film in decomposition. Scheduled for 17/06.

Jour après jour, J.-D. Pollet, Jean-Paul Fargier (France, 2006, 65’)
A film as poetic as the looks we get at the objects in our own homes or at the view from our windows. Scheduled for 18/06.

Les photos d’Alix, by Jean Eustache (France, 1980, 15’)
A man and a woman leaf through a photo album but, as they go on, their comments no longer fit what we see. Scheduled for 18/06.