THE FACE AND THE THRESHOLD | IL POVERELLO DI ASSISI [The Poor Man of Assisi]
Cine-concert with live music performed by Maestro Mario Rahi. Directed by Enrico Guazzoni in 1911, The Poor Man of Assisi is an Italian silent short film on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and was the first cinematic work dedicated to the saint. Shot in Assisi, it was produced for the International Exhibition of […]
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THE FACE AND THE THRESHOLD | FRANCESCO, GIULLARE DI DIO [The Flowers of St. Francis]
Directed by Roberto Rossellini in 1950, the film is inspired by I fioretti di san Francesco and the life of frate Ginepro. To highlight less conventional aspects of Franciscan life, the director also drew on the expertise of historian Arnaldo Fortini. The episodes, independent from one another, are linked by their reference to the Porziuncola […]
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THE FACE AND THE THRESHOLD | FRANCIS: A CINEMATIC GENEALOGY OF THE SACRED
The trajectory traced by these films is far more than a retrospective devoted to Saint Francis: it constitutes a genuine history of the cinematic gaze upon the sacred. From Il poverello di Assisi by Enrico Guazzoni to Chiara by Susanna Nicchiarelli, passing through Francesco giullare di Dio by Roberto Rossellini and Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna […]
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CONCERT “THE TANGO FAMILY” | FESTIVAL AL BUSTAN
The Al Bustan International Festival of Music and Performing Arts, under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon and the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut, presents an enchanting evening of celebrated tango arias. The programme features masterpieces by two of the twentieth century’s most iconic composers, Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel, promising a […]
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CONCERT “A FAMILY AFFAIR: PUCCINI’S GIANNI SCHICCHI” | AL BUSTAN FESTIVAL
The Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut, the British Council in Lebanon and the Embassy of Spain in Beirut, in collaboration with the Al Bustan International Festival of Music and Performing Arts and under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Lebanon, presents the opera Gianni Schicchi, featuring the Yerevan Youth Orchestra conducted by Maestro […]
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Eco Eco Eco – A World-Wide Talk for Umberto
On February 18, the Italian Cultural Istitute of Beirut participates in a global YouTube marathon dedicated to Umberto Eco. For 24 consecutive hours, the Italian Cultural Institutes around the world, together with writers, scholars, and intellectuals, will offer testimonies, reflections, and readings in tribute to one of the most influential figures of contemporary Italian thought. […]
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PRESENTATION IN BEIRUT OF THE ARABIC TRANSLATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY BY ANDREA BAJANI (PREMIO STREGA 2025)
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Beirut is pleased to invite the public to the presentation of the Arabic translation of The Anniversary, the novel by Andrea Bajani, winner of the Premio Strega 2025.Among the earliest translations of the work into a foreign language, the Arabic edition has been conceived with the aim of promoting […]
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IFF 2026 – SECOND EDITION | SOTTO LE NUVOLE [BELOW THE CLOUDS]
Between Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples, the land quakes from time to time, and the fumaroles of the Phlegraean Fields taint the air. The ruins that lie below — Pompeii, Herculaneum, long-submerged Roman villas — tell of a future that was buried by time. From these traces of history, memories of the subterranean world, […]
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IFF 2026 – SECOND EDITION | DUSE
Eleonora Duse’s legendary career seems over, but in the ferocious times between the Great War and the rise of fascism, the Divina feels a call stronger than any resignation and returns to where her life began: on stage. It’s not just the call to acting that drives her, but a profound urgency: the need to […]
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IFF 2026 – SECOND EDITION | LA VALLE DEI SORRISI [THE HOLY BOY]
Remis is a small village nestled in a secluded valley in the mountains. Its inhabitants are all unusually happy. It seems the perfect destination for new PE teacher Sergio Rossetti, haunted by a mysterious past. Thanks to an encounter with Michela, the young owner of the village inn, the teacher discovers that behind the seeming […]
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