Allora International Festival of Cinema

Edward Norton talks about acting in and directing Motherless Brooklyn, at the Allora Film Festival (Italy), on June 21, 2022. Golden Globe winner for Best Supporting Actor in Primal Fear in 1996, Edward Norton has been a force in Hollywood ever since his acclaimed acting debut in Gregory Hoblit's thriller about an altar boy accused of murdering a priest.

Independent eccentric filmmaker Abel Ferrara, a hard-core New Yorker (born in the Bronx in 1951), is in the land of his ancestors, Southern Italy, a special guest of the 1st edition of the Allora Film Festival in Ostuni, Puglia. The director of Bad Lieutenant (1992), King of New York, Body Snatchers, The Addiction (1995), The Blackout and many documentaries on the most varied subjects (among them the city of Naples and writer/filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini) talked to an enthusiastic crowd of young filmmakers and students during the festival.

Who knew Matt Dillon spoke such good Italian? The first Allora Film Fest took place last week in Puglia, Italy. The HFPA’s Silvia Bizio served as festival director and brought major star power to the small town of Ostuni: Master classes with Oliver Stone, Matt Dillon – who premiered his directing debut in City of Ghosts, Jeremy Irons, Marisa Tomei, Edward Norton and Alfre Woodard were the highlights of the week, moderated with expertise by Bizio.

The first edition of the Allora Fest in Ostuni, Puglia, got off to a triumphant start last night. Which is especially noteworthy considering the scandal that rocked the international film industry Sunday night when one of its former contributors, director Paul Haggis, was arrested and detained by Italian police on charges of rape.