Sunday, March 29, 11:00 AM, at Teatro Massimo

“Su Maistu”, a documentary by Gianfranco Cabiddu dedicated to Luigi Lai, 93, the greatest living master of the launeddas, arrives in Cagliari. The film, produced by Clipper Media, will premiere on Sunday, March 29 at Teatro Massimo, following its competition screening at Bif&st.

The Film

The documentary traces Lai’s life: his childhood in Sardinia, emigration to Switzerland, return to the island, and his role in preserving and spreading the art of the launeddas worldwide. This ancient instrument is recognized by UNESCO. Lai was also the first artist from an oral tradition to receive an honorary degree from the University of Bologna.

The film documents the Maestro’s collaborations with international artists: Paolo Fresu, Uri Caine, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Enzo Avitabile, Elena Ledda, Mauro Palmas, Cristina Pato from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and many others. A journey from Sardinia all the way to the New School in New York, directed by John Zorn.

Guests in Attendance

The screening will be attended by the director, Maestro Luigi Lai, Paolo Fresu, Elena Ledda, Gavino Murgia, Mauro Palmas, Marti Jane Robertson, producer Sandro Bartolozzi, and executive producer Barbara Meleleo.

Clipper Media brings two new documentaries to the Bif&st – Bari International Film Festival, exploring from different angles the relationship between people, landscape and tradition.

The programme opens on Monday 23 March at 6:00 pm at AncheCinema with Devozioni (special screening, out of competition), the latest film by Gianfranco Pannone. Shot in the Apennine region of Lucania, the documentary follows figures who are guardians of an increasingly rare sense of the sacred: a Franciscan convent at risk of closure, a poet who built a sanctuary, two brothers retracing Pasolini’s footsteps, a miraculously healed child, a singer researching ancient folk melodies. Against a backdrop of devotional processions, wind turbines and silence, Pannone goes in search of a spirituality that our times seem to have lost.

The following day, Tuesday 24 March at 7:00 pm at MultiCinema Galleria, Su Maistu by Gianfranco Cabiddu screens in competition in the “Per il cinema italiano” section. The film is a biographical portrait of Luigi Lai, ninety-three years old and the greatest living interpreter of the launeddas, the ancient Sardinian instrument recognised by UNESCO. A journey from Sardinia to New York, from Ireland to Scotland, spanning decades of music and extraordinary encounters with artists including Paolo Fresu, Omar Sosa, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Cristina Pato.

Ni Primera Ni Dama will also compete in the Extr’A section of the 35th FESCAAAL – Festival of African, Asian and Latin American Cinema in Milan, with the official announcement expected on 9 March.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the documentary Ni Primera Ni Dama – The Last First Lady (2025) by Barbara Cupisti will be screened at a special evening event at the Cinematheque of the Republic of North Macedonia, in Skopje.

The event is organized by the Italian Embassy in Skopje in collaboration with the Cinematheque, as part of a series of events dedicated to the transformative power of female leadership.

The film tells the story of Irina Karamanos, anthropologist and political activist, former partner of Chilean President Gabriel Boric. In 2022, at just 32 years old, Irina takes a symbolic and revolutionary step: she challenges — and ultimately abolishes — the traditional role of “First Lady”, sparking an international debate on representation, gender equality, and the renewal of democratic culture.

📅 Date: March 6, 2026 🕗 Time: 8:00 PM 📍 Venue: Cinematheque of the Republic of North Macedonia, Skopje 🎟 Free admission

The film will be screened with subtitles in English and Macedonian.

My America it will be presented in streaming on Mymovies.it from Monday 23 November 2020 starting at 14:00 and for 48 hours, in the Out of Competition / Doc section, as part of the thirty-eighth edition of the Torino Film Festival, which will be held entirely in streaming from 20 to 28 November.

Film Notes

We are happy to announce that Life is a Gift, will be broadcast  on RAI 3 on October 31st at 3:15 PM.

We are happy to announce that WOMANITY and AS TIMES GOES BY have been selected at Rome International Film Festival.

Screenings:

AS TIMES GOES BY by Simone Aleandri 24/10 MAXXI 9:45 PM
WOMANITY by Barbara Cupisti 25/10 MAXXI 9:30 PM
WOMANITY by Barbara Cupisti 27/10 TEATRO PALLADIUM 8:30 PM

Autentic Distribution has acquired world rights to distribute The Squadron and we are at MIPCOM

https://www.autentic-distribution.com/68/pid/899/The-Squadron-Calabrian-Mafia-Hunters.htm

We are happy to announce that WOMANITY and AS TIMES GOES BY have been selected at Rome International Film Festival.