The 2014 Cannes Grand Prix Winner at the Midnight Sun Film Festival

Image from The Wonders (Le meraviglie).

Alice Rohrwacher, 33, the power figure of new Italian cinema, completes the Midnight Sun Film Festival guest list. Rohrwacher will present her film The Wonders (Le meraviglie), the recent Cannes Grand Prix winner. The director’s second feature film immediately placed her among the most talked-about directors.

Like the critics and the audience, the Cannes jury headed by Jane Campion was completely taken with The Wonders, the only Italian film in the competition series. Variety reported that the film was instantly sold to dozens of countries, including France, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Taiwan, Latin America, the Benelux countries…

The highly personal portrayal of rural life takes off its hat to at least Eramanni Olmi (The Tree of Wooden Clogs) and the Belgian Dardenne brothers. Located at a remote apiary, the story follows young Gelsomina and her three sisters during a pivotal summer shadowed by their overprotective father.

Alice Rohrwacher studied in Turin and in Lisbon, working e.g. as a musician and film editor before her debut direction Corpo celeste (2011) that was screened at, among others, the Cannes, New York, Suncande, and London film festivals – and will be seen this year in Sodankylä along with The Wonders.