CINEMA/Florence Short Film Festival
October 5 & 6, 9pm both nights
Odeon Cinehall, piazza Strozzi, Florence
The two-day Florence Short Film Festival, now in its third edition, is a platform for discovering young indie moviemakers, organized in collaboration with Le Aspen Club and Toscana Cultura. Competing films are in two categories this year: animation (October 5) and fiction (October 6). The majority of movies are in English, with directors hailing from Russia, the UK, France, the United States and Italy, among others. Top film journalists, critics and independent cinema advocates make up the panel of judges. For the full program, see the website; follow updates on the Facebook event.
EXPERIMENTAL/Tempo Reale Festival
September 29–October 8
Limonaia of Villa Strozzi, via Pisana 77, Florence
Voxnova Italia
“Beyond Techno” is the theme for the autumn edition of Tempo Reale, a Florentine cult favorite, a musical showcase of experimental sounds. Events kick off Johnny Cash-style with a concert at the Sollicciano Prison, where inmate group Orkestra Ristretta will perform (advance registration required via prenotazioni@temporeale.it or by calling 055/717270). Other highlights include Dutch punk-rock guitarist Andy Moor, a member of The Ex, the electronic improv of TREE, Tempo Reale Electroacoustic Ensemble, and the closing concert by experimental group Voxnova Italia. Their Stimmung show will feature music techniques borrowed from Mongolian and Tyvan influences, interspersed with readings of erotic poetry. For more information, see the website.
ART/Ardengo Soffici and the Avant-Garde
Until January 8, 2017
Uffizi Gallery, piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence
The heirs of Tuscan artist Ardengo Soffici donated one of his self-portraits to the Uffizi, sparking the inspiration for this exhibition, which explores his role in dusting down and shaking up Italian figurative art. The exhibition is based on Soffici’s memorable book Discoveries and massacres. Writings on art, published in Florence in 1919, and opens with the reconstruction of a historical event, the 1896–1897 Festival of Art and Flowers. It also highlights Soffici’s French influences, which grew out of his interest in the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and a visit to the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris. For additional information, see the Uffizi’s exhibitions website. (text Helen Farrell)
NEIGHBORHOOD/Boboli Sogna
October 2
Via Romana & piazza della Calza, Florence
The lengthy and always lively via Romana ramps up the energy this Sunday with a block party bringing together shop owners, restaurateurs, neighborhood families and Oltrarno lovers from the “other side.” The focus is on the little ones throughout the day: from 10am to 7pm, kids can participate in circus workshops, storytime, costume fun, bubble blowing and even photo shoots. A key afternoon event will be the 3pm parade “Firenze per Boboli”: members of Florence’s corteo storico and calcio storico players will be decked out in Renaissance costumes, making their way from piazza Santo Spirito to the Prato delle Colonne in the Boboli Gardens, where the Bandierai degli Uffizi will perform. When 8pm rolls around, via Romana’s shop owners will serve as waiters for a neighborhood dinner at a 130-meter-long table, with live entertainment as the backdrop. For more information see the Facebook event; to buy a ticket for the dinner, head to one of the participating restaurants and shops at least a day in advance (see a full list here).
