N.I.C.E. Festival is now in its 33rd edition and we hope to be able to repeat the success recorded over these decades. Always keeping its mission well in mind, N.I.C.E. has in fact succeeded in creating a circuit of events around the world capable of making the new Italian auteur cinema known. The great sensitivity and openness to all that is new in the visual culture of the public that we have encountered in our travels, drives us forward year after year, taking full advantage of the various opportunities offered to us, such as, for example, streaming platforms.

N.I.C.E. starts from its historical home, the USA, in the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Washington, to end the year with the City of Florence – Donatella Carmi Bartolozzi Prize, which celebrates the winning film of the current selection. During these years of N.I.C.E’s activities, the Italian Cultural Institutes and Embassies have encouraged us to take our festival to new places, including Dublin, Riga, Dubai and Baku.

N.I.C.E. moves in a constant search for new solutions, opening the festival to promotional initiatives. The real driving force, however, always remains the small but very active staff that spends its energy to ensure that new Italian cinema is known and appreciated. Moreover, let us not forget the fundamental help given by bodies such as the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Florence, the Region of Tuscany, and Rai Cinema. The films selected for 2023 include works from established directors and first and second works of great value, ranging from comedy to drama, proving how, despite the difficulties of recent years, Italian authors are more active and motivated than ever.

Viviana del Bianco — Artistic Director

The second edition of the N.I.C.E. Italian Film Festival Ireland has doubled! After a first, and very well attended edition in Cork during 2022 – following a preview in Dublin – this year we are delighted to bring you two complete editions of the Festival to the two main cities of Ireland. An unmissable opportunity to watch a selection of 9 new films which tell the story of Italy’s past and present. The second edition of the Festival opens with a film by one of Italy’s most beloved contemporary authors, Pierfrancesco Diliberto, known as “Pif”. With great irony and modernity, the film traces the themes of work, mass media society and human relationships in the internet age.

In the main selection there are films by new directors that tell of the expectations and difficulties of today’s young people and explore the themes of social integration, crime and immigration. It is interesting to remember that these themes continue to dominate areas of the Italian debate and of the Italian imagination itself.
Furthermore, two biographical films based on Dante Alighieri and Luigi Pirandello, shed light, in an almost ironic way, on the life of two of the most illustrious and famous Italian authors in the world.

I am certain that this second edition will firmly consolidate the presence of the Festival in Ireland. The aim is to represent a cultural reference for those who love our country, along with the hope of fully including the Festival in the rich international film programming that takes place every year in Ireland. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank all partners of this edition who made the event possible, and wish you all to an outstanding N.I.C.E. Italian Film Festival 2023!

Marco Gioacchini — Director of Istituto Italiano di Cultura a Dublino