David Silverman and Bruno Bozzetto Will Headline Bergamotoons, New Italian Festival

Bergamotoons Festival, a new three-day animation festival, launches this month in the northern Italy city of Bergamo.

The festival, comprised of screenings, symposiums, and exhibitions, will be headlined with a keynote address by Simpsons veteran producer and Monsters Inc. co-director David Silverman. The event is the brainchild of Federico Fiecconi, who is the event’s artistic director.

The theme of the inaugural event is humor, which is a key trait of the festival’s other headliner, Italian animation legend Bruno Bozzetto, who is also the event’s honorary president. A newly restored version of Bozzetto’s classic feature Allegro non troppo (1976) will be shown at the Donizetti Theatre on June 22, with both Bozzetto and the film’s star Maurizio Nichetti in attendance. The Donizetti Theatre is an apt location for the screening because that is where Bozzzetto shot the original live-action scenes for the film.

Other festival highlights include:

• The Simpsons Silverman’s Marathon, an outdoor screening of Simpsons episodes personally selected by director David Silverman.
• “The Art Behind The Scenes of The Simpsons,” an exhibition of original artwork from the tv series, will be on display at the Santa Maria Maddalena.
• Various seminars, workshops, and masterclasses will take place during the festival, including programs with musician Robert Frattini and cartoonist Simone Albrighi (aka Sio, creator of the comic strip Scottecs). Sessions will focus on scriptwriting, narrative themes, and filmmaking technologies.

Bergamotoons will take place between June 22-24. For a complete festival line-up, visit Bergamotoons.it.