SAND, SUN AND STARS

In recognition of December’s Capri, Hollywood festival, we look back at the island’s long relationship with cinema

Text by Francesca Lombardo e Emily Stefania Coscione

i Faraglioni, the famous
Capri landmark Jackie Kennedy spent hours shopping here, in the chicest boutiques on Via Le Botteghe, Jack Lemmon was unable to resist the island’s most exclusive restaurants, while Kirk Douglas sat for hours drinking with friends in the renowned Gran Caffè Bar in the distinguished Piazzetta. Hollywood’s A-list, who have always vacationed in style, return perennially to one of the most famous islands in the world: Capri.

A couple of hours by ferry from Naples in the Neapolitan Gulf, and within easy reach for both local day-trippers and long-haul celebrities, the island still holds that special allure, drawing influential people from all over the world. Writers, politicians, musicians and the biggest names in show business have all disembarked at the island’s Marina Grande.

Sophia Loren and Clark
Gable on the set of It
Started in Naples, partly
shot in Capri Indeed, images of these stars on holiday on the island have secured Capri’s place in our collective imagination, as a blessed gem of an island, immersed in the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Rita Hayworth, recently divorced from Orson Welles, posed here in a scandalously small swimsuit; Liz Taylor came to the island with her lover, Richard Burton; Grace Kelly, Lana Turner and even a lonely Greta Garbo were seen walking through Capri’s passageways and small streets. Such people have helped give the island its aura of glamour, which still draws visitors from all over the world.

But Capri is not just part of our holiday dreams. Since the 1940s, the island’s natural beauty and stylish allure have transformed it into a film set, serving as the backdrop for many notable feature films in Italian and international cinema.

Ingrid Bergman takes a
stroll round the island How could we forget It Started in Naples (1960), shot in Capri and starring the sensual Sophia Loren and the urbane Clark Gable, or The Emperor of Capri (1949) by Luigi Comencini, starring the unforgettable Totò? Jean- Luc Godard’s profound film Contempt (1963) featured a very young Brigitte Bardot swimming in the island’s azure waters. Meanwhile Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s The Sea (1962), starring a controversial Umberto Orsini, took advantage of a more desolate, wintry Capri, whereas Liliana Cavani’s The Skin (1981) paired timeless Marcello Mastroianni with the island’s eternal charm.

A cove near Marina Piccola,
Capri These are films which have continued to make Capri a place where dreams and real life combine, where reality and cinema blend: “the land of the elite, intellectuals and artists,” as writer Sergio Lambiase puts it in his book dedicated to the island, CapriMovies: Sophia, Totó, B.B. e gli altri [CapriMovies: Sophia, Toto, BB and the Rest].

One way to ensure the island’s cinematic history stands the test of time is with the 12th annual film festival, Capri, Hollywood, which takes place on the island every December.

This celebrates Capri’s movie ties by hosting and awarding prizes to Italian and foreign celebrities, actors, directors and producers. Created and conceived by Pascal Vicedomini, a Neapolitan producer and television presenter, the festival “was born from the knowledge that Hollywood has always loved Capri,” as he explains.

“I thought it was important to have an occasion where Hollywood could return the emotions that the island had bestowed upon it and the whole world, not just due to the numerous films set there but also the direct participation of Hollywood stars today.”

Indeed many famous names have come to Capri for the event: Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, Lindsay Lohan, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Chaplin, Hayden Christensen, Michael Cimino, Gerard Depardieu and Faye Dunaway, to name a few.

The event has become an important platform on which to premier new Italian and foreign films; it also anticipates the following year’s Oscars ceremony.

“It seems the island has brought good luck to many famous guests, who have gone on to pick up one of those exceedingly famous little statues after winning one of our awards,” says Vicedomini, citing Hollywood’s gentle giant, Forest Whitaker, and English costume designer Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth: the Golden Age) as examples.

Dennis Hopper, Lindsay Lohan, Pascal Vicedomini
and Harvey Weinstein at the 2007 festival

Meanwhile others have simply become inspired. “After taking part in the festival”, continues Vicedomini, “English Patient director Anthony Minghella, who sadly passed away last March, was inspired to produce another masterpiece [set on the island] during his long visits, The Talented Mr Ripley.”

Meanwhile, last spring the island was unexpectedly caught up in Bollywood fever, with the arrival of Indian Siddharth Anand’s production crew, who wanted nothing more than to shoot his film, Bachna Ae Haseeno, on Capri, with Mumbai superstar Ranbir Kapoor.

Capri, Hollywood is an occasion for promotion, the exchange of ideas, and meetings between directors and producers, but also a way of increasing local tourism on the island, often forgotten during the low season. Over the years, local authorities have particularly appreciated the positive effect of the festival on the local economy, with its influx of celebrities generating much needed publicity during the winter months.

Singer Caprice
Chantal in the
famous Piazzetta
di Capri in 1959 And if a simple love of cinema has driven Vicedomini to create “this small miracle out of nothing”, as he puts it, then his love for the island has been another determining factor. Indeed, Capri holds a place very close to the hearts of all Campanians and Neapolitans, who see the place as a national treasure.

To ensure that this annual event takes place, Vicedomini is “always on the scene”, researching new contacts and unexplored proposals.

Mark Canton, producer of Spartan blockbuster 300, will present this year’s event between 27 December and 2 January. 2008/9’s festival will screen around 60 films in seven days, alongside meetings, conferences and the presentation of numerous awards for actors and directors who have contributed to the history of cinema; the homage to Capri is renewed every year.

Everything takes place in the splendid backdrop of the Faraglioni, the breathtaking cliffs, the blue sea, the alleyways and tiny fairy-tale streets, which continue to provide a mysterious, endless allure for tourists, film addicts, directors, producers and celebrities from all over the world.

www.caprihollywood.com
www.capritourism.com
www.capri.net

Immagini: Corbis, Getty, Kobal, 4Corners

SAND, SUN AND STARS

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