Ciao (film)

Last updated
Ciao
CiaoPoster1500.jpg
Ciao movie poster
Directed by Yen Tan
Written byYen Tan
Alessandro Calza
Produced byJim McMahon
Starring Adam Neal Smith
Alessandro Calza
Charles W. Blaum
Ethel Lung
CinematographyMichael Victor Roy
Edited byDavid Patrick Lowery
Music byGlen Walsh
Distributed by Regent Releasing
Release dates
  • March 30, 2008 (2008-03-30)(AFI Dallas Film Festival)
  • December 5, 2008 (2008-12-05)(United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish, Italian

Ciao is a 2008 gay independent film directed and co-written by Yen Tan and starring Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Charles W. Blaum and Ethel Lung.

Contents

Synopsis

With the slogan "If you could go back... what would you say to the one you loved", Ciao (meaning both hello and goodbye in Italian) tells the story of two men who form an unlikely bond when a mutual friend named Mark (played by Charles W. Blaum) dies unexpectedly in a car crash in Dallas

Mark's best friend Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) is left with the task of going through Mark's personal effects and informing relatives and friends of his death. While going through Mark's e-mails to let people know about his passing, Jeff discovers that Mark was corresponding with an Italian man named Andrea (Alessandro Calza), who had already planned a trip to fly to Dallas to visit Mark for the first time without knowing he had actually died.

Jeff invites Andrea to come to Texas anyway and stay with him for two days at his place. Ciao portrays these two days where the two bereaved friends one from Dallas and the other from Italy meet and talk mostly about Mark and the impact he had on both of them in a close, personal and frank manner. Through these intimate conversations, the two men form a rapport that grows, and they are soon drawn together both by their connection with the deceased Mark, and by a growing intimacy with each other. Andrea has to leave at the end of his two-day stay, but invites Jeff to Italy for a visit at some later date.

Cast

Production

Ciao was made on a very small budget and was co-written by Yen Tan and actor Alessandro Calza. [1] The film was produced by Jim McMahon, co-produced and edited by David Patrick Lowery, and co-produced by James M. Johnston, who also served as the 1st assistant director.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Ruthe Stein from the San Francisco Chronicle praised the acting, but like some other reviewers criticised the "snails pace" of the movie's story. [2] AfterElton named Ciao "the best gay movie I've seen this year" [3] and the Los Angeles Times called it "a revelation; a minimalist work of maximum effect".

Awards

The film won the Jury Prize / Best Feature Film at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the Queer Lion at Venice Film Festival, was given honorable mention at the Dallas International Film Festival, and was part of the Official Selection for Outline Framefest Newline. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Trick</i> (1999 film) 1999 American romantic comedy film

Trick is a 1999 American gay-themed romantic comedy film directed by Jim Fall and starring Christian Campbell, John Paul Pitoc, Miss Coco Peru, and Tori Spelling. Independently produced by Eric d'Arbeloff, Ross Katz, and Fall, the film was written by Jason Schafer. Trick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1999 and was later released theatrically by Fine Line Features that July. The film grossed $2 million at the United States box office, which was seen by Fine Line Features as "credible business".

<i>De-Lovely</i> 2004 film by Irwin Winkler

De-Lovely is a 2004 American musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, until his death. It is the second biopic about the composer, following 1946's Night and Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Mortimer</span> British actress (born 1971)

Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer is a British actress and filmmaker. She began acting in stage productions and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Lovely and Amazing. She is also known for playing Mackenzie McHale in the HBO series The Newsroom (2012–2014). She created and wrote the series Doll & Em (2014–2015) and wrote and directed the miniseries The Pursuit of Love (2021), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<i>Mambo Italiano</i> (film) 2003 Canadian film

Mambo Italiano is a 2003 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Émile Gaudreault. The screenplay was written by Gaudreault and Steve Galluccio, based on Galluccio's theatrical play by the same name. Both the play and the film are based on Galluccio's own life and experiences.

<i>The Upside of Anger</i> 2005 American film

The Upside of Anger is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Binder and starring Joan Allen, Kevin Costner and Evan Rachel Wood. The film was produced by Jack Binder, Alex Gartner and Sammy Lee, received mostly positive reviews with praise for Allen and Costner's performances, and was also a moderate box office success grossing $28.2 million from a $12 million budget.

<i>Something New</i> (film) 2006 American romantic comedy drama film by Sanaa Hamri

Something New is a 2006 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Sanaa Hamri. The screenplay by Kriss Turner focuses on interracial relationships and traditional African American family values and social customs.

<i>The Italian</i> (2005 film) 2005 film

The Italian is a 2005 Russian drama film directed by Andrei Kravchuk. The screenplay by Andrei Romanov, inspired by a true story, focuses on a young boy's determined search for his mother. The film won the Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk from the International Jury at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival, and a Special Mention from their Children's Jury and was also selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Allen (actor)</span> American actor and psychologist

Chad Allen is an American psychologist and retired actor. Beginning his career at the age of seven, Allen is a three time Young Artist Award winner and GLAAD Media Award honoree. He was a teen idol during the late 1980s as David Witherspoon on the NBC family drama Our House and as Zach Nichols on the NBC sitcom My Two Dads before transitioning to an adult career as Matthew Cooper on the CBS western drama Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. He announced his retirement from acting in April 2015.

<i>The Visitor</i> (2007 feature film) 2007 film by Tom McCarthy

The Visitor is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Tom McCarthy and produced by Michael London and Mary Jane Skalski. Executive producers were Jeff Skoll and Omar Amanat. The screenplay focuses on a lonely man in late middle age whose life changes when a chance encounter with an immigrant couple forces him to face issues relating to identity, immigration, and cross-cultural communication in post-9/11 New York City.

<i>The Big Gay Musical</i> 2009 American film

The Big Gay Musical is a 2009 gay-themed musical-comedy film written by Fred M. Caruso and co-directed by Caruso and Casper Andreas. The film follows a brief period in the lives of two young actors, one who is openly gay, the other closeted to his parents. The openly gay actor struggles with whether he should be sexually promiscuous or seek a life partner, while the closeted one wonders if he should come out to his conservative, religious parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Stein</span> American film director

Adam Stein is an American film director and screenwriter working in Los Angeles, California.

<i>I Knew It Was You</i> 2009 American film

I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale is a 2009 American documentary film about actor John Cazale, directed by Richard Shepard and produced by Brett Ratner, Stacey Reiss and Shepard.

Darren Stein is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer who grew up in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley. Among his works include the documentary Put the Camera on Me, the 2010 horror comedy All About Evil, and the satirical major motion picture Jawbreaker, which was deemed a "cult classic" by the New York Post.

<i>Happy Birthday</i> (2002 film) 2002 American film

Happy Birthday is a 2003 American film directed by Yen Tan and starring Benjamin Patrick, Michelle E. Michael and John Frazier. It is Tan's debut long feature film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yen Tan</span> American film director

Yen Tan is a Malaysian-born American independent film producer and director.

Adam Neal Smith is a Dallas, Texas-born and Los Angeles-based film and theater actor, and musician in a band and film music composer.

<i>G.B.F.</i> (film) 2013 American teen comedy film

G.B.F. is a 2013 American teen comedy film directed by Darren Stein and produced by School Pictures, Parting Shots Media, and Logolite Entertainment. The film had its first official screening at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival in April 2013 and was released theatrically on January 17, 2014, by Vertical Entertainment. G.B.F. focuses on closeted gay high school students Tanner and Brent. When Tanner is outed, he is picked up by the cool girls. He begins to surpass still-closeted Brent in popularity.

Alessandro Jacchia is an Italian producer. He is co-founder, president and CCO of Albatross Entertainment S.p.A.

<i>Rocketman</i> (film) 2019 film based on the life of Elton John

Rocketman is a 2019 biographical jukebox musical drama film based on the life, music, and career of British musician Elton John. The film focuses on the story of John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The story is told through his music and is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, the film stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell as Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen, John's mother. A British-American venture, the film was produced by New Republic Pictures, Marv Films and Rocket Pictures, and was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

<i>1985</i> (film) 2018 film directed by Yen Tan

1985 is a 2018 American drama film directed by Yen Tan and starring Cory Michael Smith, Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis, Aidan Langford, and Jamie Chung. The film is an expansion of an earlier short film of the same name that Tan released in 2016.

References

  1. Burr, Ty (2008-12-18). "Meeting to recall a missing friend". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  2. Stein, Ruthe (2008-12-12). "'Ciao'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  3. "Ciao: The Best Gay Movie of the Year?", AfterElton
  4. "Ciao Movie official website". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2010-03-02.