The Joy of Rediscovering Films

A few thoughts on this year’s Cinema Ritrovato

Photo by Kilyan Sockalingum on Unsplash

For the third consecutive year, I spent a few days in Bologna, to catch up with friends and attend Il Cinema Ritrovato, the festival organized by the lovely Italian town’s film archive, the Cineteca di Bologna, and devoted entirely to the cinema of the past: new restorations, vintage prints, newly recovered rarities, documentaries about the greats of yesteryear. It’s an event that attracts thousands of attendees from all over the world, some of whom are pretty high-profile: when he’s not busy finishing his own movies, Alexander Payne is a regular presence at the festival, which he has described as his favorite on the whole planet.