To honor the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, “Essere Leonardo da Vinci, un’intervista impossibile (Being Leonardo da Vinci, an impossible interview)” directed by Italian screenwriter, director, and actor Massimiliano Finazzer Flory is set to have its premiere in the country during the 22nd Cine Europa this November 19, 2019 at 7:30 PM at the Cinematheque Centre Manila.

Photo from the Philippine Italian Association website

The film screening will happen under “Leonardo in Manila,” a series of events to be conducted throughout November to pay tribute to the man behind the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and Vitruvian Man. The activities are hosted by the Embassy of Italy together with the Philippine Italian Association and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ICCPI) in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Cine Europa 22, and the EU Delegation to the Philippines.

Based on a play written and performed by Flory in 2016, the film shows two journalists– unaware of each other—who are looking for a scoop about da Vinci’s 500th death anniversary. They come to his grave in Clos Lucé where they meet the celebrated Renaissance artist himself. He grants them an interview to talk about his art.

“Essere Leonardo da Vinci, un’intervista impossibile” garnered different awards, including Best Actor Award in the Los Angeles Actors Awards last January, the Best Narrative Feature in the Festive International Film Festival 2019 in Los Angeles, and Honorable Mention for Narrative Film at the 2019 Los Angeles Film Awards. It has also been selected for the Accolade Global Film Competition and Miami Independent Film Festival.

An open-to-the-public movie presentation by Flory will be held for free on a first-come, first-served basis at 5:00 PM before the film screening starts. To register, kindly fill out the form here.

Free Screenings of European Films

Thirteen films are currently screening at the Cine Europa 22. These are “Achter De Wolken (Behind The Clouds)” by Cecilia Verheyden, “Teorie tygra (The Tiger Theory)” by Radek Bajgar, “Vinterbrødre (Winter brothers)” by Hlynur Pálmason, “Tour de France” by Rachid Djaïdani, “Grüße aus Fukushima (Greetings from Fukushima)” by Doris Dörrie, “Búék (Happy New Year)” by Krisztina Goda, “Essere Leonardo da Vinci, un’intervista impossibile (Being Leonardo da Vinci, an impossible interview)” by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, “De Marathon (The Marathon)” by Diederick Koopal, “Kongens nei (The King's Choice)” by Erik Poppe, “Zimna wojna (Cold War)” by Paweł Pawlikowski, “10.000 km (Long Distance)” by Carlos Marques-Marcet, “Tjuvheder (Drifters)” by Peter Grönlund, and “Mary Shelley” by Haifaa al-Mansour.

See the full screening schedule below.

Cine Europa 22 runs from November 13 to 24, 2019 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila. Admission to the screening is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.