ULTIMATE DOCS COMPETITION
CHINA A NEW OLD EMPIRE FROM IN AND OUT

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

THE WISE CAT CATCHES MICE

(IL BRAVO GATTO PREBDE I TOPI)

Italy, 2006, 85 min., Chinese, Italian

Director: Francesco Conversano & Nene Grignaffini
Producer: Paolo Ruffini
Script: Francesco Conversano & Nene Grignaffini
Cinematography: Roberto Cimatti, Liu Sen
Editing: Giusi Santoro
Sound: Stefano Barnaba
Production company: Movie movie for RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana – Rete Tre
Print Source:
Movie movie for RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana – Rete Tre
Via San Vitale 40/7
40125 Bologna
Italy
Tel.: +39 051 221 914
Fax: +39 051 222 296
e-mail: movieita@tin.it
www.moviemovie.it


The Wise Cat Catches Mice

This gorgeous and lyrical film provides a different look at China than the one which has dominated North American media of late. Instead of focusing on images of bustling city life of the world's new economic super-power, filmmakers Conversano and Grignaffini take us to over-looked rural villages brimming with peasants who try to eek out a living from the land. Beautiful cinematography draws the viewer into this powerful off-the-beaten-path narrative and takes them on a journey through a lush countryside that can barely provide for its inhabitants. Winner of the David di Donatello Award for Best Documentary Feauture at RomeFilm Fest 2006, this intensely visual experience provides a unique look at the periphery of a culture that has only recently opened its doors to the West.

Francesco Conversano was born in Monopoli, Italy, in 1952. Nene Grignaffini was born in Fontanellato, Italy in 1955. they have been authors, directors and producers of documentary films since 1980, when they founded the production company Movie Movie. After completion of studies in film history and theory at the University of Bologna. In these years their work has been characterized by careful research, which has led them to experiment different languages and narrative forms. They have chosen the documentary genre as a device to tell stories of our time.

Filmography:

The Wise Cat Catches Mice (2006), DAVIDI DI DONATELLO Priz efor the Best Italian Documentary;
Indian Pocketbook (2006);
Allegro Con Spirito. Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart (2006);
Good Morning China. Tales of the Chinese Century (2005);
The TravelL Diaries. Where the Beauty Never Sleeps (2004);
Blue Highways. Voices Of The Other America (2003-2004);
A Writer, A Place (2000 - 50’ each);
La Citta del Cinema (1995);
The House of Images (1990).

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