Cinema Italian Style at SIFF

On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Cinema Italian Style festival opens at SIFF Cinema Uptown with a movie screening and an Opening Night Party at KEXP.   

Queen Anne’s Dr. Claudio Mazzola, a professor in the Italian Department at the University of Washington, will be there to welcome guests as one of the original founders of Cinema Italian Style. The festival developed out of a correspondence between Dr. Mazzola and Mario Lorini, an old friend who was the director of an organization of representing theaters presenting films by new and upcoming Italian directors as well as classic Italian films. Through these discussions, Mr. Lorini and Dr. Mazzola decided to approach SIFF with a proposal to start an Italian Film in Seattle. As a result, in 2011 Cinema Italian Style was born. 

From 2011 thru 2017 SIFF programmers, Mr. Lorini and Dr. Mazzola focused on selecting the best films that Italian filmmakers were making and bringing them to Seattle audiences. By 2018 SIFF programmers had developed many connections with Italian filmmakers and producers and Mr. Lorini and Dr. Mazzola relinquished their roles as programmers. However, to this day Dr. Mazzola is still an active sponsor of the festival as well as being involved in promoting Italian films. 

Mazzola has been working with SIFF for 16 years on Cinema Italian Style. Beth Barrett, the Artistic Director of SIFF, said “His knowledge about Italian film is expansive, and he has been a key partner in the success of the festival!” Adding, “he is integral to connecting the films to not just the community, but also the University of Washington students” where he has been teaching since 1999.  

Before joining the faculty at UW, Mazzola received his "Laurea" in English from the University of Milan in 1981. He also received a degree in cinema studies from the City University of Milan. Mazzolathen went on to receive a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington in 1986. Other teaching experiences include the University of Michigan, Vassar College, and the College of the Holy Cross. 

From a very early age, Mazzola was fascinated by movies and was on a path to become a true cinephile. As a teenager in Italy, there were times when he would attend up to three films a day, which was difficult because in those times theaters were the only venue for watching films. This lifelong passion for cinema has been a guiding factor in his work. From teaching Italian cinema classes at the University of Washington to helping start the Italian Film Festival for the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), Mazzola has helped expand knowledge of Italian Cinema across the Pacific Northwest. 

Dr. Claudio Mazzola and Italian film director Liliana Cavani with his class at University of Washington. Courtesy of Claudio Mazzola

“Every year, our Italian filmmaking guests attend his class, and those are often the highpoints of their visit,” Barrett said. And Dr. Mazzola had another motive for helping birth the Cinema Italian Style Festival: he arranged his course schedule to teach his Italian Film class in the same quarter as the SIFF Italian Style Festival.  

As part of the class curriculum, he assigns three films from the festival and then in class they would analyze and discuss the films. In addition, Mazzola convinced the directors of the films to come to Seattle and to his class to discuss their film. Typically, filmmakers come to film festivals to promote their films. This has not been the case for many of the foreign filmmakers. They tend to be more interested in understanding how American audiences respond to their films. They are very interested in asking the students in Dr. Mazzola’s class probing questions. In some cases, he would also have actors, producers, or technical people come from the films to attend class to discuss the making of the films from their perspective.  

Over the years of teaching his class this has provided an invaluable experience for his students. Students in these classes tend to ask questions that help them understand the intricacies and complexities of film making. This is information that would be difficult to obtain from a textbook or academic lecture. On RateMyProfessors.com, one student said, “Claudio is a passionate teacher, and it is easy to tell he genuinely cares about each student's learning.” Another said, “I did not think I would like this class but Claudio BLEW MY MIND. He is a film genius and one of the best professors I have had at UW,” and, “I left the class with a new love for film and Italy!” Most of his ratings are in the “Awesome” category and this writer agrees.  

This year Cinema Italian Style features some of the best Italian films. Entering its 16th year, the festival will take place November 7–14, 2024 at SIFF Cinema Uptown. On opening night, the film will be There’s Still Tomorrow, Italy’s highest grossing film of 2023. It is a vibrant, moving drama starring Paola Cortellesi (Like a Cat on a Highway) in her directorial debut. If you decide to attend one of the films and you see Claudio, say Hello and Thank You!  

More information on Cinema Italian Style at SIFF.net 

Watch for more regular film updates from the new SIFF correspondent for Queen Anne & Magnolia News. Chuck Schafer is a longtime Queen Anne resident and an avid film lover. He’s a retired IBM Managing Consultant who can be found regularly at UW studying under theACCESS program that allows seniors to audit classes for a low cost, including Dr. Mazzola’s film class.