Music, fashion, wine and cinema–these are just a few of the drawing points that bring millions of Americans across the Atlantic to Italy’s colorful coasts each year. Next month, New Yorkers will not have to travel very far to experience their favorites of the Italian culture.

After opening in San Francisco, the N.I.C.E. Film Festival will make its way to New York City from Nov. 14 - 17. In celebration of its 27th edition in the United States, the festival partners with The Italian Cultural Institute [2]as well as NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò [3] to host three screenings and a special cultural event.

Cultural Exchange through Cinema:

Each year, since its founding in 1991, N.I.C.E. coordinates a traveling film festival including stops in the US, Russia, England and China, featuring seven of Italy’s best up-and-coming productions to an international audience. The films compete for the City of Florence Award [4], and the winner is decided by ballots from the audience.

N.I.C.E. is a non-profit cultural association, founded in Florence by Viviana Del Bianco [5] and a group film professionals, with the goal of promoting independent Italian cinema abroad. While at first the program engaged mostly Italians living overseas, the demographic of audiences has consistently shifted to include a growing number of both movie lovers and Italophiles alike.

The Festival Program:

This year’s New York itinerary premieres downtown at NYU Casa Italiana Zerrilli-Marimò, with a screening of Francesco Carrozzini’s Franca: Chaos and Creation on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (6pm). The documentary serves as a tribute by Carrozzini to his mother Franca Sozzani [6], the late, pioneering Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Italia. Her son’s film establishes an intimate window looking into Sozzani’s achievements, creative process and vulnerabilities. A Q&A session with director Carrozzini and journalist Grazia D’Annunzio will follow the viewing.

The next day, the Italian Cultural Institute on the Upper East Side, will host a showing of Nicolas Carreras’ The Duel of Wine (6pm). The film uses a fictitious, comedic storyline centered on the real-world famous sommeliers Charlie Arturaola [7] and Luca Gardini to bring the audience on a satirical journey through the world of competitive wine-tasting. After the screening there is a Q&A with Uruguayan sommelier Charlie Arturaola and producer Lino Pujia, moderated by Simone Bracci. The event also includes a “wine tasting.”

The final screening, held again at Casa Italiana on Friday (6pm), will see Salvatore Allocca’s Taranta on the Road make its US debut. Followed by a Q&A with the Allocca, screenwriter Amara Lakhous and Director of Casa Italiana Stefano Albertini [8], the film tells the story of two Tunisian migrants to Apulia who become entrenched in an unexpected and life-changing voyage with the help of a Taranta band. The movie takes audiences on an emotional journey tuned to a soundtrack of Taranta [9], the popular traditional folk music of the region.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information and details of the festival, see: http://www.nicefestival.org/en/new-york-2017 [10]