History
The festival was established in Messina, Sicily, in 1955, and in 1957 grew to include Taormina, [1] at the same time introducing the "Cariddi d'Argento" (Silver Charybdis) awards. [2] It was then named the Rassegna Cinematografica Internazionale di Messina e Taormina [3] [4]
From 1957 to 1980 it hosted the David di Donatello film awards, named after Donatello's statue of David, which increased the prestige of the festival. [1]
In 1964, the first four days of the film were hosted in Messina, and Taormina the last four. In 1969, director/president Giuseppe Campione (1969—1970) aimed to promote films with cultural depth and social relevance, with a subtitle of the festival "Festival for International Film Cooperation". [1]
In 1970 the Festival internazionale del cinema di Taormina was created, [2] which opened in Taormina for the first time. [1] Since 1971 the festival has usually been held in the Teatro Antico (Ancient Theatre) in Taormina. [2] Also in 1970, the inaugural Gran Premio delle Nazioni was awarded, in that year to Sydney Pollack. [2] On the 10th anniversary of the Festival delle Nazione (Festival of Nations), the Charybdis was awarded to the Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock (film), directed by Peter Weir. [1]
From 1981, under the director Guglielmo Biraghi, the Festival dell Nazione was dropped. [1] The top three films were awarded gold, silver and bronze Cariddi, and another award, the Maschere di Polifemo (Masks of Polyphemus) (gold, silver, and bronze) was created for the best interpretations. In 1984 the Nastri d'Argento (Silver Ribbons) were introduced. [2] [1]
In 1983 the EPT (Ente Provinciale per il Turismo), which had sponsored the event since the start, stopped its patronage, and the festival was renamed Taormina FilmFest (under the newly established Taormina Arte). [1] [2]
Enrico Ghezzi, director from 1991 to 1998, renamed the show TaoFest, and changed the focus and activities of the festival quite radically, with a focus on arthouse films, discussion, and study. [1] In 1997 he held it in the convention building in Taormina under the name XXVII Festival internazionale del cinema di Taormina. [2] [1]
From 2002 it became the Taormina BNL Film Fest, [5] sponsored by the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. [6] [7] However, BNL dropped its €500,000 sponsorship before the 2006 event, much to director Felice Laudadio's disgust at the late decision, taken in January. In 2006 the festival had to run without its international competition, and cancel invitations to the more expensive stars. [8]
Laudadio (1999—2006) was responsible for increasing the reputation and profile of the festival internationally. His innovations included doing away with the Cariddi/Charybdis and the Maschere di Polifemo/Masks of Polyphemus and replacing them with awards given by sponsors: the Diamond Awards (from 2000) and the Taormina Arte Awards for Cinematic Excellence (from 2003). The Silver Ribbons were again hosted from 2000. [1]
Over the years Taormina Film Fest has hosted over the years many stars of international cinema: Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro, Colin Firth, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Tom Cruise, Melanie Griffith, and Antonio Banderas, among others. [2] [1]
