Your Thursday forecast: best events in Florence

CINEMA/Florence Korea Film Fest

March 22-30

La Compagnia, via Cavour 50r, Florence

Sample a slice of South Korean culture at the 16th edition of Florence Korea Film Fest, which this year brings a whopping 40 feature-length and short films to town. Organized by Taegukgi – Toscana Korea Association, the showcase kicks off a series of Eastern-centric film festivals under the Primavera Orientale umbrella. Special guest at the 2018 edition is actor Ha Jung-woo, who will join producer Won Dong-Yeon and director Kim Yong-hwa at the European premiere of Along With the Gods: Two Worlds, the story of a firefighter’s untimely death (March 24). A retrospective celebrating Jung-woo’s artistic evolution will also run, remembering seven of his most memorable roles in movies such as the love story Time (2006) and erotic thriller The Handmaiden (2016), directed by the festival’s previous guest of honor, Park Chan-wook. All films will be subtitled in Italian and English. For the full program, see the website.

NEW + NOTEWORTHY/Opening: Roberto Casamonti collection

March 25

Piazza Santa Trinita, Florence

Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, site of the Roberto Casamonti
Collection. Photo via Casamonti website

Not exactly known as a mecca of modern art, Florence is nonetheless home to avid 20th-century art enthusiasts who have built substantial collections kept away from the public eye. Among them is Roberto Casamonti, owner of Tornabuoni Arte, who has amassed a range of artworks over a 40-year period of research and collection. Casamonti is now repurposing the Renaissance Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni in piazza Santa Trinita to host a rotating public exhibition of his gathered treasures. Part one opens March 25 and features 100 works from the onset of the 20th century up to the early 1960s, from artists including Le Corbusier, Umberto Boccioni, Paul Klee, Max Ernst, Georges Braque and Wasily Kandinsky, among others. These works will be on display until March 10, 2019, with part two, spanning the 1960s to the present day, still forthcoming. For more information about the collection, see the website.

ITALY/Dawn of a Nation

Ongoing until July 22

Palazzo Strozzi, piazza Strozzi, Florence

Photo by Andrea Paoletti

Journey through the artistic twists and turns of the 20th century in Italy at Palazzo Strozzi’s forthcoming exhibition, which culls together 80 works from such renowned artists as Renato Guttuso, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Enrico Castellani, Mario Merz, Mario Schifano, and Piero Manzoni. Dawn of a Nation explores the vibrant culture and spurts of creativity in Italy over twenty years, starting in the immediate aftermath of World War II and continuing through the protests of the 1960s and the pivotal shifts of 1968. The artistic narrative begins with the sharp divisions between Realism and Abstraction, next touching on the Informal and Pop periods and moving onward through Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. For an in-depth explanation of the exhibition’s themes, attend Director of Palazzo Strozzi Arturo Galansino’s forthcoming lecture at the British Institute’s Harold Acton Library (March 28, 6pm, information here). For further details on the exhibition, see Palazzo Strozzi’s website and head here for TF‘s first look.

BIBLICAL/Mary Magdalene

March 22-25

Cinema Odeon, piazza Strozzi, Florence

Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix star in this new live-action retelling of one of the Bible’s most compelling relationships: that of Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth. Garth Davis, acclaimed director of Lion, is behind this dramatic depiction of Mary Magdalene’s life and motivations. As one of Jesus’ most prominent followers, and yet not officially a disciple, she is mentioned in the Gospels more than many of her male counterparts. It all begins simply enough when a young woman (Mara) leaves her village to join a compelling new social movement with a charismatic leader (Phoenix). For showtimes see the Odeon website.