Cristiana Paternò

From Jean Vigo’s L’Atalante to Respiro by Emanuele Crialese, many of the most moving and exciting scenes in world cinema have been shot underwater. Maybe because the darkened space of the theatre takes us back to an amniotic situation in which we are/were truly happy.

Cristiana Paternò

She is a professional journalist and film critic. She is sub-editor of the bimonthly cinema magazine 8 ½ Numeri, visioni e prospettive del cinema italiano and of the on-line daily Cinecittà News, both published by Luce Cinecittà. She was born in Rome where she graduated in philosophy, and was an editor on L’Unità for more than a decade. In 2000, she founded and edited the on-line cinema daily tamtam, winner of the Domenico Meccoli Prize in 2001 for best-specialized web magazine.  As well as collaborating with numerous newspapers, she has written articles and essays on contemporary Italian cinema and often covering the rapport between cinema and other disciplines, from psychoanalysis to literature.

She was a member of the selection committee of the International Film Critics Week at the Venice International Film Festival. In 2007, she was awarded the Premio Giornale dello Spettacolo for best cinema journalist of the year. She is a member of the Academy of the David di Donatello and of the Documentario Premio Doc/It. She has been a member of numerous juries, including the Soundtrack Star Award at the Venice International Film Festival.