“AstraDocFest” returns to Naples, a celebration of real-life cinema that was born in continuity with the “AstraDoc” festival, whose 15th edition ended a month ago with almost three thousand spectators and several sold-out evenings.
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The second edition
The second edition of AstraDocFest will include two evenings of screenings at the Cinema Astra, with two films being shown for the first time in the city, and two masterclasses with “AstraDocLab”, promoted and financed by the Municipality of Naples as part of the Cohousing Cinema Napoli project, with the support of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, which will be held in the Casa della Cultura of Palazzo Cavalcanti, in via Toledo 348.
15 May 2025
The screenings will be hosted at the Cinema Academy Astra in via Mezzocannone. It opens on Thursday 15 May at 20:30 pm with the restored edition – curated by the Cineteca Nazionale and Cinecittà Luce – of the documentary “Il fuoco di Napoli” by Alessandro Rossetto who will be present in the room to present the film with Gina Annunziata, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, and Antonio Borrelli, curator of AstraDoc. We are in Naples, under Vesuvius, in a land of violent contrasts, between immutable traditions and wild modernization. Giuseppe Scudo has a passion for fireworks. His art and his life are one and the same for him. The Neapolitan artificer challenges danger with lucidity and intelligence. His work is a delicate alchemy of ancient knowledge, imagination and courage. Since the dawn of time, fire has fascinated the spirit of man. And it is with pyrotechnic art and fireworks that man's ancient relationship with fire is celebrated.
16 May 2025
On Friday 16 May at 20:30 pm there will be “Prima della fine. Gli ultime giorni di Enrico Berlinguer” by Samuele Rossi, recently nominated for the David di Donatello, which will be introduced by Guido D'Agostino, historian and president of the Istituto Campano per la Storia della Resistenza, and by Roberto D'Avascio, president of Arci Movie. The film, through largely unpublished video and audio materials, tells the story of the last days of Enrico Berlinguer's life, more than forty years after his death. An emotional story constructed using only archive material, the result of three years of research, to offer a new perspective on the last moments of the life of the PCI secretary: from his illness during the rally in Padua to his death four days later in hospital, on 11 June 1984, up to the impressive funeral held in Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on 13 June.
AstraDocLab
Alongside the screenings, AstraDocLab is also back, with two prestigious masterclasses hosted at Palazzo Cavalcanti in via Toledo and reserved for students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. The first, on May 15 at 10 am, will be with Antonio Capuano and will be entitled “Cinema according to Antonio Capuano”. Born in Naples in 1940, he is a director, screenwriter, playwright and set designer. After working as a set designer at the Centro Rai in Naples, he made his directorial debut in 1991 with “Vito e gli altri” with which he participated in the Critics' Week at the Venice Film Festival and won the Nastro d'Argento for best new director. Among the leading exponents of the “New Neapolitan Cinema” movement, he created important works such as “Pianese Nunzio, 14 years in May” (1996), “Luna rossa” (2001), “La guerra di Mario” (2005), “L'amore buio” (2010), “Bagnoli Jungle” (2015) and “Il buco in testa” with which he participated several times in international festivals such as those of Venice, Locarno and Turin, receiving several awards, until he received the special David di Donatello in 2022.
The other protagonist of AstraDocLab is Alessandro Rossetto, who will hold a masterclass on May 16 at 10 am entitled “Il Fuoco di Napoli – Studio di caso realizzavo e produzione”, which is connected to the theme of the 2025 edition of Maggio dei Monumenti. Born in Padua in 1963, Rossetto studied anthropology and cinema in Bologna and Paris. He is a director, screenwriter and director of photography, producer and teacher. Considered one of the greatest European documentary filmmakers of his generation, he made his debut in 1997 with “Il Fuoco di Napoli”, followed by works such as “Bibione Bye Bye One” (1999), “Chiusura” (2001), “Feltrinelli” (2006), presented at some of the major international festivals. He also tries his hand at fictional works such as “Piccola Patria” (2013) and “Effetto domino” (2019), both selected at the Venice Film Festival. He is among the founders of the Doc/it association, member of the scientific committee of the Solinas screenwriting award.
Declarations
"The collaboration between the Municipality of Naples and Arci Movie is renewed in 2025 to support the training and growth of young talents in our territory. The free masterclasses dedicated to the film students of the Academy of Fine Arts will give young participants the opportunity to directly interact with two protagonists of Italian cinema such as Antonio Capuano and Alessandro Rossetto. This confirms, in full coherence with the objectives of the Cohousing Cinema Napoli project, the commitment of the Manfredi Administration to combine quality cultural entertainment with a concrete training action that aims to enhance the professionals of tomorrow" says Ferdinando Tozzi, delegate of the mayor of Naples for the music and audiovisual industry.
"With the second edition of AstraDocFest we continue to deepen our gaze on the cinema of reality by accompanying the screening of two works exclusively in the city with two exceptional masterclasses such as those of Rossetto and Capuano. The aim is to offer the city an event that represents a broad overview of the different ways in which a cinematographic language linked to reality is expressed and that over time can take root as happened with AstraDoc", so says Antonio Borrelli, artistic curator.
AstraDocFest is curated by Arci Movie with Parallelo 41 Produzioni, Federico II University of Naples, Coinor, Academy of Fine Arts of Naples and UCCA.
AstraDocLab is curated by Arci Movie, promoted and financed by the Municipality of Naples as part of Cohousing Cinema Napoli, with the support of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples.
Entrance ticket to screenings 5 euros, reduced to 4 euros for Arci members. The Cinema Academy Astra is in via Mezzocannone 109. For information and updates you can visit the social channels of AstraDoc or browse the website www.arcimovie.it.
Article published on May 13, 2025 - 12:13 pm
Video Chronicles
I didn't know this fest before, but it seems interesting to me. The films that are scheduled seem good and the masterclasses too. I hope that there are many young people who participate and learn a lot.
I didn't know about this event either, but now I want to go see the movies. Maybe the documentary on Berlinguer is a good opportunity to understand more about the story.