The flavor of the month is… Italy

Cinematheque goers can enjoy a three-part event replete with a chamber music, classic film and brunch, designed to introduce its participants to Italian incarnations on all three of these fronts.

By DIANA GERSHMAN
cinematec (photo credit: )
cinematec
(photo credit: )
The Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Israel Camerata are joining forces to bring food and culture to Jerusalemites. Today, Friday the 13th, Cinematheque goers can enjoy a three-part event replete with a chamber music, classic film and brunch. This four-hour experience is designed to introduce its participants to Italian incarnations on all three of these fronts. Ben Shira, Israel Camerata's general manager, says that working on a project with the Jerusalem Cinematheque is a dream come true for both sides. "Ilan deVries [general director of the Cinematheque] and I wanted to collaborate. So we agreed on brunch, music and a movie," he says. The Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israel Camerata dubbed their upcoming event, Commedia dell'Arte or Comedy of the Artists. During the 16th century, this title was most closely associated with the improvisational artists, typical to Venice, who roamed in troupes. These true street performers lived off donations collected during their open-to-the-public shows. Outside of Italy, however, this form of theater was known simply as Italian Comedy. Commedia dell'Arte begins today at 11 a.m., with authentic Italian fare catered by Lavan, the in-house Cinematheque restaurant. Live chamber music follows with musical scores by Antonio Vivaldi and Claudio Monteverdi and the afternoon concludes with the film, Viaggio di Capitan Fracasse. "This is something that Jerusalem doesn't really offer," said Miri Capiluto, marketing manager for the Jerusalem Cinematheque. "It's a movie. It's live music. You can hear about subjects that you don't know or didn't think about." But just in case you can't swing it for today, there is another installment planned for Friday, February 27 featuring the Fellini film Rome. Come March the topic switches to "romantic Russia" at which, Shira asserts, they will not be screening the James Bond movie From Russia With Love. Entrance to Commedia dell'Arte is NIS 110 or NIS 60 without brunch; not kosher, (02) 565 4333.