Critics and researchers present insights into Italian cinema, its history, and the prominent figures that shaped this illustrious cinema, within a seminar featuring three specialized speakers who will address various aspects of this topic. The seminar will be moderated by Algerian actor residing in Italy, Miloud Mourad Ben Amara.

Film critic Masimou Lechi tackles an important theme related to the Arab presence in Italian cinema, and its interest in Arab concerns and issues, through global examples, and a return to the works of renowned Italian directors such as Pontecorvo, Visconti, and Pasolini.
Masimou Leche, an Italian film and theater critic, studied literature at the University of Genoa, and worked for several years as an assistant director and production assistant. Since 2006, he has extensively written reviews, interviews, and reports on festivals for Italian and English magazines, and published his first book in 2012.

Meanwhile, Italian writer and film and literary critic Oscar Larussi delves into the rich history of Italian cinema, which has reached 130 years of existence, by discussing filmmaker Federico Fellini (1920-1993) on the centenary of his birth. Fellini was a director with a significant artistic trajectory and the recipient of numerous international awards. Larussi serves as head of cultural pages at “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno” newspaper, and is also a member of the expert committee of the Venice International Film Festival. He studied “historical politics” at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, and obtained a PhD in Comparative Literature from the same university. Among his important works is “Discover the Cinemas in Italy.”

Writer and researcher Jesse Cumming, from Canada, discusses the topic of documentation in the world of cinema, and highlights a range of experiences with Italian films, especially since the process of documentation in Arab cinema is relatively modest. Therefore, the writer emphasizes its historical, scientific, and artistic importance. Jesse Cumming works as a coordinator at the Toronto International Film Festival, as a programmer at the Canadian Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, and as a consultant at the Berlinale Forum and the Open City Documentary Festival.