Rome’s Il Cinema in Piazza summer screenings series has recruited Léa Seydoux, who will present Arthur Harari’s body-swap psychodrama “The Unknown” as part of a three-picture Carte Blanche program featuring “three titles that have shaped her imagination and artistic journey,” organizers have announced.
The unique program — featuring 95 free screenings in three outdoor venues, plus the indoor Cinema Troisi arthouse venue — will screen the Italian premiere of “The Unknown” on June 27 at the Sala Troisi, introduced by Seydoux. The French star recently told Variety in a digital cover that her role in the film is “the best part I’ve ever played.”
The Cinema in Piazza encounters with Seydoux will continue on June 28 in Rome’s Piazza San Cosimato, with her introduction of a screening of Louis Malle’s 1963 drama “Le Feu follet” (“Wisp of Fire”). The three-day Seydoux marathon will end on June 29, at another outdoor Rome venue called Monte Ciocci, where she will introduce Ursula Meier’s “Sister.” The film won the Berlin Silver Bear in 2012 and stars Seydoux as a troubled young woman caring for her little brother who steals ski equipment to support them both.
“The Carte Blanche sections curated for Piccolo America by so many friends have given the public the chance to discover Paolo Sorrentino’s unexpected shyness, as well as his passion for Taylor Swift; Damien Chazelle’s love for Jonas Mekas and Vittorio De Seta. Jane Campion’s affection for Liliana Cavani, and Francis Ford Coppola’s curiosity about Alice Rohrwacher” said Valerio Carocci, president of the Fondazione Piccolo America, the feisty group of young film buffs that runs the event. “Today, Léa Seydoux has accepted our proposal: with all her sensitivity and depth of vision regarding the history of cinema, she invites us to revisit Louis Malle with her, but she has also chosen to share two films born from equally distinct moments in her career.”