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74-717: Debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival , If These Walls Could Talk became a surprise success and was the highest-rated movie in HBO history. It was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards , including for Outstanding Television Movie and three Golden Globe Awards , including Best Miniseries or Television Film . The 1952 segment deals with Claire Donnelly, a widowed nurse living in suburban Chicago , who becomes pregnant by Kevin, her brother-in-law and decides to undergo abortion in order not to hurt her late husband's family. However, abortion at

148-559: A Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp . The film was partially inspired by the book In the End, I Beat Hitler by Rubino Romeo Salmonì and by Benigni's father, who spent two years in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II . The film was an overwhelming critical and commercial success. Despite some criticisms of using

222-522: A Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time list. This list is produced from a wider poll of film industry professionals and academics throughout Canada, separately from the annual top-ten list. The festival's major prize, the TIFF People's Choice Award , is given to a feature-length film. It is not a juried prize, but is given to the film with the highest ratings as voted by the TIFF-going populace. It

296-539: A Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media . In Italy, the film was released in 1997 by Cecchi Gori Distribuzione. The film was screened in the Cannes Film Festival in May 1998, where it was a late addition to the selection of films. In the U.S., it was released on 23 October 1998, by Miramax Films . In Germany, it was released on 12 November 1998. In Austria, it was released on 13 November 1998. In

370-431: A U.S. Army unit led by a Sherman tank arrives and the camp is liberated. Giosuè is overjoyed about winning the game (unaware that his father is dead), thinking that he won the tank, and an American soldier allows Giosuè to ride on the tank. While traveling to safety, Giosuè soon spots Dora in the procession leaving the camp and reunites with his mother. While the young Giosuè excitedly tells his mother about how he had won

444-511: A daring and ambitious subject and proves worthy of it." Richard Schickel , writing for Time , argued, "There are references to mass extermination, but that brutal reality is never vividly presented". He concluded that "even a hint of the truth about the Holocaust would crush [Benigni]'s comedy." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B−, calling it "undeniably some sort of feat—the first feel-good Holocaust weepie. It's been

518-695: A dedicated Canadian film stream. In 2004, TIFF was featured as the site of murder mystery in the film Jiminy Glick in Lalawood , a comedy film starring Martin Short . In 2007, it was announced that the organization generates an estimated annual impact of $ 67 million CAD. By 2011, that benefit had grown to $ 170 million CAD. In 2008, Rose McGowan caused controversy at a TIFF press conference for her film Fifty Dead Men Walking , when she noted that "I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in

592-444: A failed attempt to end her pregnancy with a knitting needle , Claire contacts a man who comes to her home and performs a clandestine, hasty procedure on her while she lies atop her kitchen table. Claire finally manages to abort, but dies shortly afterwards due to massive blood loss. The 1974 segment deals with Barbara Barrows, a struggling and aging mother with four children and a night-shift-working policeman husband, who discovers she

666-599: A fate similar to that of the protagonist of the film of the same name, a fact that turned Dora's life upside down. His friends advised against making the film, as he is a comedian and not Jewish, and the Holocaust was not of interest to his established audience. Because he is Gentile , Benigni consulted with the Center for Documentation of Contemporary Judaism, based in Milan , throughout production. Benigni incorporated historical inaccuracies in order to distinguish his story from

740-423: A guard about her husband and son and being told there is no mistake, Dora volunteers to get on the train in order to be close to her family. However, as men and women are separated in the camp, Dora and Guido do not see each other during the internment. Guido pulls off various stunts, such as using the camp's loudspeaker to send messages—symbolic or literal—to Dora to assure her that he and their son are safe. Eliseo

814-403: A long time coming." However, Glieberman stated: "There's only one problem. As shot, it looks like a game". Michael O'Sullivan, writing for The Washington Post , called it "sad, funny and haunting." Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave it 5/5 stars, saying: "This magnificent film gives us a glimpse of the Holocaust, but it is really about love, and the indomitability of humanity even in

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888-580: A plate of dinner. But when the server returns with his superior, Guido is found teaching all of the German children how to say "Thank you" in Italian, effectively providing a ruse. Guido maintains this story right until the end when, in the chaos of shutting down the camp as the Allied forces approach, he tells his son to stay in a box until everybody has left, this being the final task in the competition before

962-893: A research centre. There is also a gift shop, two restaurants, a lounge, a cafe, and a three-storey atrium. Cooperatively with Daniels Corporation, there is a 46-storey condominium atop, called the Festival Tower. The first film screening was Bruce McDonald 's Trigger . The first exhibition was a retrospective on Tim Burton , organized by the Museum of Modern Art (New York City). Subsequent exhibitions include Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, and Stanley Kubrick : The Exhibition, all of which were organized by TIFF, as well as one called Essential Cinema , featuring posters, images and props from TIFF's The Essential 100 list of films. The Film Reference Library (FRL)

1036-524: A studio in the world that would finance this picture" and praised Moore and Cher for having the courage to use their celebrity to address the issue of abortion. Cher commented "It took someone with Demi's power and fortitude to have something like this made. Without that power, you couldn't do it. These topics are not on everybody's top 10 list of things to do." The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. If These Walls Could Talk holds an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews. Among

1110-415: A tank, just as his father had promised, the adult Giosuè, in an overheard monologue, reminisces on the sacrifices his father made for him and his story. Director Roberto Benigni , who wrote the screenplay with Vincenzo Cerami , was inspired by the story of Rubino Romeo Salmonì and his book In the End, I Beat Hitler , which incorporates elements of irony and black comedy . Salmoni was an Italian Jew who

1184-464: A tragedy, have missed the point of the film. He draws attention to what he terms 'Holocaust conformism' in cinema to rebuff detractors of Life Is Beautiful . Israeli screenwriter, author and art critic Kobi Niv published the book Life Is Beautiful, but Not for Jews (in 2000 in Hebrew and an English translation in 2003), in which he analyzed the movie from a highly critical perspective, suggesting that

1258-448: A wide range of film and celebrity blogs. 43°38′48″N 79°23′25″W  /  43.64667°N 79.39028°W  / 43.64667; -79.39028 Life Is Beautiful Life Is Beautiful ( Italian : La vita è bella , Italian: [la ˈviːta ˈɛ bˈbɛlla] ) is a 1997 Italian comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni , who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami . Benigni plays Guido Orefice,

1332-772: Is a large Canadian film research collection. The library is a free resource for film lovers, filmmakers, students, scholars, and journalists, and is located on the fourth floor of the TIFF Lightbox. An affiliate member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) , the FRL promotes Canadian and global film scholarship by collecting, preserving, and providing access to a comprehensive collection of film prints, and film-related reference resources (including books, periodicals, scripts, research files, movies, press kits, and about 80 special collections. In 2016,

1406-687: Is a young Italian Jewish man who arrives to work in the city of Arezzo , in Tuscany , where his uncle Eliseo works in the restaurant of a hotel. Guido is comical and sharp, and falls in love with a gentile girl named Dora. Later, he sees her again in the city where she is a teacher and set to be engaged to Rodolfo, a rich but arrogant local government official with whom Guido has regular run-ins. Guido sets up many "coincidental" incidents to show his interest in Dora. Finally, Dora sees Guido's affection and promise and gives in, against her better judgment. He steals

1480-499: Is inescapable, but genuine poignancy and pathos are also present, and an overarching sincerity is visible too." David Rooney of Variety said the film had "mixed results," with "surprising depth and poignancy" in Benigni's performance but "visually rather flat" camera work by Tonino Delli Colli . In 2002, BBC critic Tom Dawson wrote "the film is presumably intended as a tribute to the powers of imagination, innocence, and love in

1554-527: Is known for the celebrity buzz it brings to the area with international media setting up near its restaurants and stores for photos and interviews with the stars. In 2010, TIFF opened its permanent headquarters, TIFF Lightbox, a year-round home for the appreciation of film in the heart of downtown Toronto, although TIFF films are still screened at a wider variety of venues, including the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , rather than exclusively at

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1628-406: Is murdered in a gas chamber shortly after their arrival. Giosuè narrowly avoids being gassed himself as he hates to take baths and showers, and did not follow the other children when they had been ordered to enter the gas chambers and were told they were showers. In the camp, Guido hides the true situation from his son. Guido tells Giosuè that the camp is a complicated game in which he must perform

1702-451: Is pregnant despite having recently gone back to college. She considers abortion with the support of her teenage daughter, Linda, but ultimately chooses to keep the child. The 1996 segment deals with Christine Cullen, a college student pregnant by a married professor, who decides on an abortion when he breaks up with her and only offers her money. After consulting with her roommate, Patti, she made an appointment with Dr. Beth Thompson. However,

1776-777: Is presently referred to as the " Grolsch People's Choice Award"; past sponsors of the award have included Cadillac . The winners of this award have often later earned Academy Award nominations. People's Choice Awards are also presented for Documentary and Midnight Madness films. Each of the People's Choice Awards names first and second runners-up in addition to the winners. However, TIFF does present juried awards in some other categories. The festival presents three major awards for Canadian films: Best Canadian Film , Best Canadian First Feature Film , and Best Canadian Short Film , as well as awards for Best International Short Film , two FIPRESCI -sponsored International Critics' Prizes for

1850-464: The Academy Award for Best Actor while Slumdog Millionaire went on to win eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards. Precious , which won the 2009 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win two Oscars at the 82nd Academy Awards. The King's Speech , the winner of the 2010 TIFF People's Choice Award, won four Oscars at the 83rd Academy Awards, while Silver Linings Playbook , the winner of

1924-651: The Academy Awards . Past recipients of this award include Oscar-winning films, such as Chariots of Fire (1981), Life Is Beautiful (1998), American Beauty (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King's Speech (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), La La Land (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Green Book (2018), Jojo Rabbit (2019), Nomadland (2020), Belfast (2021) and American Fiction (2023). TIFF starts

1998-464: The BBC , TIFF is one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. In 1998, Variety acknowledged that TIFF "is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity". In 2007, Time noted that TIFF had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period". In 2016, TIFF hosted 1,800 members of

2072-480: The "primary" venue of the festival. The 2020 edition was both in-person and virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic , with the virtual platform provided by Shift72 . The film screenings were initially declared as "masks optional", a decision that drew criticism for creating a potential superspreader event as the social nature of the festival could increase the risk for COVID-19 transmission. The festival reversed

2146-571: The 2012 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence . In 2019, the festival opened with Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band , the first time the festival ever opened with a Canadian documentary film. Many Hollywood studios premiere their films in Toronto due to TIFF's easy-going non-competitive nature, relatively inexpensive costs (when compared to European festivals), eager film-fluent audiences and convenient timing. In 2007,

2220-819: The Festival Group began construction on TIFF Lightbox , a new facility at the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto, on land donated by Ivan Reitman and family. The $ 181 million facility was sponsored by Bell Canada , with additional support from the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada . In 2010, the organization opened its new headquarters at TIFF Lightbox. The facility, designed by local firm KPMB Architects , provides extensive year-round galleries, cinemas, archives and activities for cinephiles. The five-storey facility contains five cinemas, two gallery spaces, film archives and an extensive reference library, study spaces, film lab facility, and

2294-411: The Holocaust . What may be most offensive to both wings is its sidestepping of politics in favor of simple human ingenuity. The film finds the right notes to negotiate its delicate subject matter ... The movie actually softens the Holocaust slightly, to make the humor possible at all. In the real death camps there would be no role for Guido. But Life Is Beautiful is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about

If These Walls Could Talk - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-539: The IRA". In 2009, TIFF's decision to spotlight films from Tel Aviv created a controversy with protesters, saying it was part of an attempt to re-brand Israel in a positive light after the January 2009 Gaza War . In 2016, 397 films from 83 countries were screened at 28 screens in downtown Toronto venues, welcoming an estimated 480,000 attendees, over 5,000 of whom were industry professionals. In 2017, TIFF reduced

2442-538: The Lightbox. TIFF has grown, steadily adding initiatives throughout the years. TIFF Cinematheque (formerly Cinematheque Ontario) and the Film Reference Library (FRL) opened in 1990. The TIFF Kids International Film Festival (formerly Sprockets) launched in 1998. Film Circuit began exhibiting independent and Canadian films in under-serviced cities across Canada in 1994. The festival also organizes

2516-555: The Special Presentation and Discovery programs, and a NETPAC Prize for the best film from Asia having its world premiere at the festival. In 2015, the festival introduced Platform, a juried programme that champions director's cinema from around the world; one film from the stream is selected as the winner of the Platform Prize . For all of the juried awards, honorable mentions may also be given, although

2590-543: The TIFF Film Circuit, a program which partners with local organizations in other Canadian towns and cities to present screenings of films that have previously been shown at TIFF. In May 2024, TIFF announced that it will launch a full film market in 2026. The festival was founded in 1976 at the Windsor Arms Hotel by Bill Marshall , Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl . Beginning as a collection of

2664-651: The Thursday night after Labour Day (the first Monday in September in Canada) and lasts for eleven days. The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 5 through 15, 2024. As of 2022 , the festival's CEO is Cameron Bailey . The Toronto International Film Festival was first launched as the Toronto Festival of Festivals , collecting the best films from other film festivals around

2738-567: The UK, it was released on 12 February 1999. After the Italian, English subtitled version became a hit in English speaking territories, Miramax reissued Life Is Beautiful in an English dubbed version, but it was less successful than the subtitled Italian version. The film was aired on the Italian television station RAI on 22 October 2001 and was viewed by 16 million people. This made it the most watched Italian film on Italian TV. Life Is Beautiful

2812-554: The abortion takes place during a violent protest, and during the actual abortion, an anti-abortion protester walks in and shoots Dr. Thompson immediately after she completes the procedure. Christine comforts Dr. Thompson as she slowly bleeds out. 1952 segment 1974 segment 1996 segment As executive producer, Moore spent seven years trying to get the film made, until the project was eventually greenlit by HBO . HBO vice president Colin Callender said "I don't believe there's

2886-413: The appearance of visiting German officers and their families to show Giosuè that other children are hiding as part of the game, and he also takes advantage of a German nanny thinking Giosuè is one of her charges in order to feed him as Guido serves the German officers. Guido and Giosuè are almost found out to be prisoners by another server when Giosuè accidentally says "thank you" in Italian upon being served

2960-635: The artistic director of TIFF Lightbox , while longtime programmer Cameron Bailey succeeded as co-director. As of 2013, Bailey is now the artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as TIFF Lightbox's year round programming. TIFF was once centred on the Yorkville neighbourhood, but the Toronto Entertainment District later gained a greater level of prominence. TIFF

3034-464: The best-regarded films from film festivals around the world, it had an inaugural attendance of 35,000. Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their feature releases. In 1978, the festival first began billing itself as "the Toronto International Film Festival" as a supplementary name, although it retained Festival of Festivals as its primary branding. At

If These Walls Could Talk - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-639: The decision within 24 hours citing a surge of new cases in Ontario, causing them to go fully virtual instead. The 2020 festival also saw the introduction of Industry Selects, an ad hoc film market for films seeking commercial distribution. Due to the pandemic, which prevented members of the North American film industry from travelling to international film festivals where many of the Industry Selects films were screened, they were available on

3182-510: The festival received a donation of 1,400 film prints, and launched a campaign to raise money for the preservation and storage of the films. Each year, TIFF releases a Canada's Top Ten list of the films selected by a poll of festival programmers across Canada as the ten best Canadian feature and short films of the year, regardless of whether or not they were screened at TIFF. The films selected are announced in December each year. Previously,

3256-646: The festival's industry platform, but not on the commercial platform for the general public. Introduced at the time as a temporary measure due to the pandemic, it was converted into a permanent part of the TIFF program in 2022, and became the nucleus of the festival's plans to launch a full film market in 2026. Films such as American Beauty , Ray , Mr. Nobody , 127 Hours , Black Swan , Disobedience , The Five Obstructions , Singapore Sling , I Am Love and The Fabelmans have premiered at TIFF. Jamie Foxx 's portrayal of Ray Charles ultimately won him

3330-426: The film's underlining narrative is harmful for Jews. Another academic analysis of the movie was undertaken by Ilona Klein, who analyzes the film's success and refers to the "ambiguous themes hidden within." Klein suggests that one of the reasons the movie was so successful was its appeal of "sentimental optimism". At the same time, she points out that "Miramax's hype billed this film as a fable about 'love, family, and

3404-612: The highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States until Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). The film was praised by the Italian press, with Benigni treated as a "national hero." Pope John Paul II , who received a private screening with Benigni, placed it in his top five favourite films. It holds a "Fresh" 81% approval rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes , based on 93 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus reads: "Benigni's earnest charm, when not overstepping its bounds into

3478-568: The human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future. About the necessary human conviction, or delusion, that things will be better for our children than they are right now." Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune gave the movie a score of 100/100, calling it: "A deeply moving blend of cold terror and rapturous hilarity. Lovingly crafted by Italy's top comedian and most popular filmmaker, it's that rare comedy that takes on

3552-687: The juries are expected to select one overall winner. In 2019, the festival introduced the TIFF Tribute Awards , a gala ceremony at which distinguished actors and filmmakers are honoured for their lifetime career achievements; unlike most award categories, the Tribute Award honorees are named in advance of the festival. The hundreds of films screened at the annual festival are divided into sections (referred to by TIFF as "Programmes") based on genre (e.g. documentary , children's films ), format (e.g. short films , television episodes ),

3626-477: The lady from her engagement party, on Robin Hood; Uncle Eliseo's horse, humiliating her fiancé and mother. They are later married, have a son, Giosuè, and run a bookstore. During World War II , in 1944 when Northern Italy is occupied by Nazi Germany , Guido, his uncle Eliseo, and Giosuè are seized on Giosuè's birthday. They and many other Jews are forced onto a train bound for a concentration camp. After confronting

3700-491: The midst of inhumanity." Janet Maslin wrote in The New York Times that the film took "a colossal amount of gall" but "because Mr. Benigni can be heart-rending without a trace of the maudlin, it works." The Los Angeles Times ' s Kenneth Turan noted the film had "some furious opposition" at Cannes, but said "what is surprising about this unlikely film is that it succeeds as well as it does. Its sentiment

3774-458: The most harrowing of circumstances," but "Benigni's sentimental fantasy diminishes the suffering of Holocaust victims." In 2006, Jewish American comedic filmmaker Mel Brooks spoke negatively of the film in Der Spiegel , saying it trivialized the suffering in concentration camps. By contrast, Nobel Laureate Imre Kertész argues that those who take the film to be a comedy, rather than

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3848-545: The movie implicitly suggests quick-witted confidence was a match for the terrors of fascist death camps, then added that "[Benigni's] fable ultimately obscures the human and historical events it sets out to illuminate." The movie also received criticism, for the scene of the US Army Sherman M4 Tank coming to liberate the concentration camp. However, Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army and Belsen

3922-438: The number of films screened compared to the 2016 festival with 255 feature-length films in 2017 , and also eliminated two venues that had been used in prior years. In 2019, it was reported that due to a request from its owner, Cineplex Entertainment , no TIFF films distributed by subscription video-on-demand services (specifically Amazon Video and Netflix ) are being screened at Scotiabank Theatre—which has been considered

3996-410: The positive reviews were Siskel & Ebert, who both gave the film "Two Thumbs Up." A sequel anthology, If These Walls Could Talk 2 , aired in 2000. The subject addressed in it was lesbianism . Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival ( TIFF , often stylized as tiff ) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in

4070-520: The power of imagination,' yet most Jewish victims of the Nazis' 'Final Solution' were loving, concerned, devoted parents. No amount of love, family, and power of imagination helped their children survive the gas chambers." David Sterritt of The Christian Science Monitor highlighted that "Enthusiasm for the movie has not been as unanimous as its ad campaign suggests, however, and audiences would do well to ponder its implicit attitudes." He pointed out that

4144-686: The press and print media outlets such as the Toronto Star , The Globe and Mail , The New York Times , The Times of India , Los Angeles Times , The Philadelphia Inquirer , Miami Herald , and the Toronto Sun have published a significant amount of festival coverage. Also, the major industry trade magazines Variety , The Hollywood Reporter and Screen International all produce daily editions during TIFF. TIFF reports also appear in weekly news magazines; American, Canadian and international entertainment shows; news services; and

4218-403: The promised tank is his. Guido goes to find Dora, but he is caught by a German soldier. An officer orders Guido to be executed and Guido is led off by the soldier. While he is walking to his death, Guido passes by Giosuè one last time and winks, still in character and playing the game. Guido is then shot and left for dead in an alleyway. The next morning, Giosuè emerges from the sweat-box, just as

4292-472: The same point of the soul, no? I'm a storyteller: the crux of the matter is to reach beauty, poetry, it doesn't matter if that is comedy or tragedy. They're the same if you reach the beauty." The names of the protagonists are instead taken from Dora De Giovanni and Guido Vittoriano Basile, uncles of Nicoletta Braschi; Basile, arrested for his anti-fascist activity, died in the Mauthausen concentration camp ,

4366-633: The same time it moved from the Harbour Castle Hotel to the Plaza II, and Wayne Clarkson replaced Marshall as the festival director. The number of galas increased from one to two per night and the Canadian Film Awards were incorporated into the festival. The Festival of Festivals name was dropped in 1994, with the event becoming known exclusively as the Toronto International Film Festival at that time. From 1994 to 2009,

4440-510: The status of filmmaker (e.g. "masters", first-time directors), and so forth. Up until the early 2010s there were sections reserved for Canadian films, but beginning in 2015 all Canadian films are integrated in sections with films from outside Canada. Currently the festival's 14 sections are as follows: In previous years, sections at TIFF have included Perspectives Canada, Canada First!, City to City ( 2009 to 2016), Future Projections, Vanguard (up to 2016), and Visions (up to 2011). According to

4514-497: The subject matter for comedic purposes, it received widespread acclaim, with critics praising its story, performances and direction, and the union of drama and comedy. The movie grossed over $ 230 million worldwide, including $ 57.6 million in the United States, is the second highest-grossing foreign language film in the U.S. (after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) and one of the highest-grossing non-English language movies of all time . The National Board of Review included it in

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4588-453: The tasks Guido gives him. Each of the tasks will earn them points and whoever gets to one thousand points first will win a tank. He tells him that if he cries, complains that he wants his mother, or says that he is hungry, he will lose points, while quiet boys who hide from the camp guards earn extra points. Giosuè is at times reluctant to go along with the game, but Guido convinces him each time to continue. At one point Guido takes advantage of

4662-478: The time is strictly illegal. Claire eventually finds another nurse who provides her the phone number of a woman who can find her someone to perform the abortion. The woman on the phone tells Claire that the only trustworthy care provider she knows is located in Puerto Rico , and Claire cannot afford the travel costs—with air fare and hotel costs, the total trip would cost about $ 1000 (about $ 10,800 in 2022). After

4736-598: The top five best foreign films of 1998. The movie won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival , nine David di Donatello Awards (including Best Film ), five Nastro d'Argento Awards in Italy, two European Film Awards , and three Academy Awards , including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor for Benigni, the first for a male non-English performance. In 1939, in Fascist Italy , Guido Orefice

4810-483: The true Holocaust, about which he said only documentaries interviewing survivors could provide "the truth". The film was shot in the centro storico (historic centre) of Arezzo , Tuscany . The scene where Benigni falls off a bicycle and lands on Nicoletta Braschi was shot in front of Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla in Arezzo. The concentration camp was set in an old abandoned factory near Papigno ( Terni ) that

4884-428: The umbrella organization running TIFF was named "Toronto International Film Festival Group" (TIFFG). In 2009, the umbrella organization TIFFG was renamed to TIFF. In 2001, Perspective Canada, the programme that had focused on Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programmes: As of 2015, Canadian films are now simply included alongside international films in the other film programs rather than being grouped as

4958-473: The unnecessarily treacly, offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5/4 stars, stating: "[According to Benigni] the movie has stirred up venomous opposition from the right wing in Italy [and at] Cannes, it offended some left-wing critics with its use of humor in connection with

5032-421: The winning films were screened at a smaller follow-up "Canada's Top Ten" festival at the Lightbox the following January, with a People's Choice Award then presented for that minifestival. In 2018, TIFF announced a change, under which instead of a dedicated festival, each Top Ten film will receive its own standalone theatrical run at the Lightbox throughout the year. Since 1984, every decade TIFF has also produced

5106-441: The world and showing them to eager audiences in Toronto. Founded by Bill Marshall , Dusty Cohl , and Henk Van der Kolk , the inaugural event took place from October 18 through 24, 1976. That first year, 35,000 filmgoers watched 127 films from 30 countries presented in ten programmes. Piers Handling had been the festival's director and CEO since 1994, while Noah Cowan became co-director of TIFF in 2004. In late 2007, Cowan became

5180-540: The world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organization behind the film festival is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto . The TIFF People's Choice Award - which is based on audience balloting - has emerged as an indicator of success during awards season , especially at

5254-479: Was commercially successful, making $ 48.7 million in Italy. It was the highest-grossing Italian film in its native country until 2011, when surpassed by Checco Zalone 's What a Beautiful Day . The film was also successful in the rest of the world, grossing $ 57.6 million in the United States and Canada and $ 123.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $ 230.1 million. It surpassed fellow Italian film Il Postino: The Postman as

5328-434: Was converted into a concentration camp for filming. The "prize" tank is an M4 Sherman . The original score to the film was composed by Nicola Piovani , with the exception of a classical piece which figures prominently: the " Barcarolle " by Jacques Offenbach . The soundtrack album won the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for

5402-708: Was deported to Auschwitz, survived and was reunited with his parents, but found his brothers were murdered. Benigni stated he wished to commemorate Salmoni as a man who wished to live in the right way. He also based the story on that of his father Luigi Benigni, who was a member of the Italian Army after Italy became a co-belligerent of the Allies in 1943. Luigi Benigni spent two years in a Nazi labour camp, and to avoid scaring his children, told about his experiences humorously, finding this helped him cope. Roberto Benigni explained his philosophy, "to laugh and to cry comes from

5476-518: Was liberated by the British Army. Although there were Internet users who claimed that this scene was a historical revisionism . Life Is Beautiful was shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival , and went on to win the Grand Prix . Upon receiving the award, Benigni kissed the feet of jury president Martin Scorsese . At the 71st Academy Awards , Benigni won Best Actor for his role, with

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