14/01/2015
Fresh from prestigious awards at the last Cannes Film Festival and critical acclaim, Arte Fiera 2015 is proud to present the Italian premier of Turner, Mike Leigh’s visionary film about one of the most important painters and artists of the nineteenth century.
Leigh, who has become a key figure in British cinema and will likely be nominated for an Oscar, will be at Arte Fiera on 25 January to present his new film, which narrates the last 25 years of the artist’s life in particular.
«Mr. Turner is a film of tensions and contrasts – says Leigh - between this very mortal man and his timeless work, between his fragility and his strength».
Arte Fiera has been chosen as the ideal venue at which to present the film, on the eve of its opening in Italian cinemas. This prestigious event further enriches the fair’s programme of other initiatives with a film dedicated to a giant of the art world. Turner, who was born in London in 1775 and died in Chelsea in 1851, was a key figure of the 1800s, appreciated for his style since the early years of his career. Known by the nickname the “painter of light”, the characteristics the painter is famous for stand out in Leigh’s film: eccentricity and vulnerability, inconsistency and absolute talent. The film – which won Timothy Spall the Best Actor award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and saw Leigh nominated for the Palme d’Or - depicts the last 25 years of the eccentric British artist’s life, following the death of his father.
In his 40 years as a film director, Mike Leigh has made around fifteen films and received numerous international awards. He won the Palme d’Or for best director at Cannes for the film Naked in 1992 and in 1996 for the film Secrets and Lies. Topsy-Turvy won two Oscars in 1999 for best costumes and make-up, while Vera Drake won the Golden Lion for best film at the 2004 Venice Film festival. Leigh had previously won the Critics’ award for High Hopes in Venice in 1988.