Countdown to Lovers Film Festival in Turin-Europe's oldest and 3rd oldest film festival on LGBTQI+ in the world

Countdown to Lovers Film Festival in Turin-Europe's oldest and 3rd oldest film festival on LGBTQI+ in the world (Turin, Cinema Massimo – 16-21 April 2024)

The first previews with guests Paolo Camilli, Annagaia Marchioro and Guglielmo Scilla National premiere at the festival "LIL NAS X: LONG LIVE MONTERO" by Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel.

The countdown to the Lovers Film Festival begins on Tuesday 16 April (press conference 10 April, at 12 at the Cinema Massimo, via Verdi 18, Turin).

The oldest Italian festival on LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex) themes directed by Vladimir Luxuria and founded by Giovanni Minerba and Ottavio Mai anticipates the presence of three guests much loved by the rainbow community. The comedian and activist Annagaia Marchioro who has worked in various television programs, from the Italian edition of SNL with Claudio Bisio to La TV on RAI 3 with Serena Dandini. Often on tour around Italy with her shows, she is a recurring guest on Propaganda live on La7 and very active on social media: on Instagram she shares her profile with her aunt Gina Francon. Paolo Camilli, actor, comedian and content creator who was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award 2023 last year for the HBO series "The White Lotus 2", will also be at the Cinema Massimo. He starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg in Leopardi & Co. by Federica Biondi, soon to be released, and will soon be on Netfilx with the film The Dadchelor by Jon Karthaus. In television, in 2023 he was a regular judge in the third edition of "Drag Race Italia" on Paramount+ and, in the theater, with L'amico di tutti, he addressed issues such as gender controversy, intolerance, sexual discrimination, racism and hate speech. Last February, he started the tour of his new theatrical show Sconfort Zone – the paradise of irrelationships, written together with Moira Angelastri, Andrea Cappadona and Manuela Mazzocchi. Among the 2024 guests of the film festival there is also the writer, actor, radio speaker, presenter and activist Guglielmo Scilla, the first Italian digital creator, who has become a spokesperson for the millennial generation. His career took off thanks to his ability to communicate and entertain audiences with comedy videos, video blogs, and sketches. Also known by the pseudonym Willwoosh, he was active on social media in the early 2000s, when the world of online entertainment was emerging. Subsequently, he participated in TV programs and series, with both comic and dramatic roles, and published some books, focusing on her existential and professional experiences. "Scilla, Marchioro and Camilli are artists much loved by our community who know how to make that comedy capable of dismantling prejudices. They teach us that after being taken and made fun of we can afford the luxury, indee, we have the duty, to be ironic by putting those who discriminate in the corner. The three artists are also very popular with the people of social media," says Vladimir Luxuria, artistic director of the Lovers Film Festival. The festival will feature the only Italian screening of Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel's documentary LIL NAS X: LONG LIVE MONTERO (USA, 2023, 95 min.) on the life of the famous African-American rapper from Atlanta. The film chronicles the artist's first tour and paints a surprisingly intimate portrait of a singer who spans identity, family, expectations and acceptance and who is part, to all intents and purposes, of the "Olympus" of queer black artists. Lil Nas X has unleashed a veritable global storm with his blatant depictions of sexuality, and audiences and critics have often wondered if he's an artistic genius, an agent of Satan, or a sneaky social media troll or, perhaps, all three. A tour, the one told, which was also a continuous test of strength and emotion: from the challenges to the "sold out" to the homophobic attacks.

The Lovers Film Festival is powerd by the National Museum of Cinema in Turin and takes place with the contribution of the MiC, the Piedmont Region and the Municipality of Turin. Images and press materials can be downloaded at this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XytXf_-68YBX7p_h1JPLUKQItCGiHi62?usp=sharing

Lovers Film Festival Press Office Management Consultant Maurizio Gelatti +39 347 7726482 – m.gelatti@contesti.it National Cinema Museum Press Office Manager: Veronica Geraci +39 011 8138509 – +39 335 1341195 – geraci@museocinema.it Festival Area: Helleana Grussu +39 011 8138865 – press@loversff.co