San Diego is heading into its busy film festival season, with the Italian, , and film festivals filling cinemas in October and November. First up is the (SDIFF), which kicks off Oct. 1.

SDIFF began because of a wonderful man named Victor Laruccia. He imagined it not just as a festival to showcase Italian films but what he liked to call an Italian perspective. Another element of the festival that comes from him is his love of gathering people around film, food and conversation. He envisioned it as what he called a "piazza," a place where people could gather to enjoy all these things. Today, the driving force behind the festival is artistic director Antonio Iannotta.

Each year, the festival picks a theme to guide the films chosen, and this year the theme is courage.

SDIFF

SDIFF kicks off

See Full Page