Festa do Cinema Italiano (Italian Cinema Festival) will organize, on April 15th, a special screening of the documentary “Milano – The Inside Story of Italian Fashion”, directed by John Maggio, which narrates the importance of the Italian Fashion industry in the world, over the past 50 years. The session will take place in Sala Manoel de Oliveira at Cinema São Jorge, in Lisbon, at 9:30 pm, and will be attended by the film’s producers, Alan Friedman and Giuseppe Pedersoli.

Festa do Cinema Italiano is the reference festival in Portugal for those passionate about Italian culture and cinema. In addition to cinema, it brings music, literature and gastronomy to several cities in Portugal. In Lisbon, it takes place from April 12th to 21st, at Cinema São Jorge, UCI El Corte Inglés, Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema and, for the first time, at Cine-Teatro Turim, in Benfica.

Among the highlights of the cinema program is “Milano – The Inside Story of Italian Fashion”. John Maggio’s documentary narrates in an engaging way the emergence of Italian Fashion and its rise as a global phenomenon, through a luxury cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Frances Macdorman, Tom Ford, Gianni Versace, and Giorgio Armani, among other Designers and celebrities.

The rise and rivalry between Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace in the 1970s, the revival of the Gucci brand under the leadership of Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford in the 1990s, the “ugly chic” of Miuccia Prada and the fantasies of Dolce & Gabbana are some of the themes explored by John Maggio. Giorgio Armani and other stars from the Fashion world share their own journeys, revealing how they conquered the American market through Hollywood.

Frances McDormand offers eloquent insight into the mysteries of the Italian fashion capital, and speaks of her “performance art” project together with Pierpaolo Piccioli. Lauren Hutton talks about her experience in “American Gigolo” with Richard Gere. Sharon Stone provides a surprising performance as fashion critic, while the anecdotes and commentary from Helen Mirren and Samuel L. Jackson enrich the storytelling. Tom Ford and the British fashion editor, Suzy Menkes, emerges as the key narrative voices in the film.

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