Holy See hosts film screening on social friendship at Venice Biennale

By Sr. Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA

The Dicastery for Culture and Education, in collaboration with the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, is holding a cultural event at the International Architecture Exhibition the Biennale of Venice on Thursday, 7 September, at the Holy See Pavilion.

The event revolves around the projection of a movie entitled “Social Friendship: Meeting in the Garden”.

The cultural event is the result of a collaboration between the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Benedicti Claustra Onlus, and the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo. It seeks to bring together two cultural events of global significance: the Biennale of Cinema 2023 and the Biennale of Architecture 2023.

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça is due to present the “Robert Bresson Prize” to Mario Martone, an Italian-born film director.

The Robert Bresson Prize is awarded to film directors who have “given a testimony, significant for sincerity and intensity, of the difficult passage in search of spiritual meaning in our lives.”

The award ceremony takes place at the Spazio Cinematografo at the 80th International Film Festival of the Biennale of Venice.

The exhibition offers an opportunity to visit and learn about the Holy See Pavilion and attend the screening of the film “Nostalgia”, with the extraordinary presence of director Mario Martone and lead actor Pierfrancesco Favino.

The title “Social Friendship: Meeting in the Garden” is named after the Holy See’s exhibition at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition at the Biennale.

About the Exhibition

The Holy See Pavilion was created by Architect Roberto Cremascoli and commissioned by Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça, and extends from the exhibition halls to the garden of the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Visitors can explore the installation of “O Encontro” by Portuguese Architect Álvaro Siza (who won the 1992 Pritzker Prize) and the garden designed and sponsored by the Italian collective Studio Albori, Emanuele Almagioni, Giacomo Borella and Francesca Riva who will accompany the guests, together with the curator, on a guided tour of the Pavilion.

As part of the event, Italian-born journalist and author Aldo Cazzullo will moderate a discussion between Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça and Mr. Martone.

Mr. Martone’s film “Nostalgia” tells the story of Felice, interpreted by Pierfrancesco Favino, who returns to his birthplace at the Rione Sanità in the heart of the Italian city of Naplesa after living for 40 years elsewhere. The protagonist rediscovers the places and traditions of his neighbourhood and a past which devours him.