Piaggio partners with the 12th edition of River to River Florence Indian Film Festival set to take place at Cinema Odeon, Florence, Italy from 7 – 13 December, 2012, fortifying its long standing Italian-Indian connect. River to River is the maiden festival exclusively crafted for films from and about India, formed under the patronage of the Indian Embassy and its Roman counterpart. Commemorating the best of Indian talent, the Festival will pay tribute to none other than living legend Amitabh Bachchan, who will address the opening ceremony.
Engaging with the awards committee, Piaggio makes a grand entry on the circuit with the Piaggio Foundation Award for the feature film category, whose jury will comprise of a special committee from the Piaggio Foundation. Piaggio appositely identifies this novel platform to salute its supreme global fan-following, as the winning director will take back home the brand new LX125, recently launched in the Indian market. The five feature films in competition for the River to River Bitebay Audience Award are Rockstar, Alexandra David Néel, j’irai au pays des neiges, Adaminte Makan Abu (Abu, son of Adam), Bhooter Bhobishyot (Future of the Past) and Chittagong.
Speaking on their association with the film festival, Ravi Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director, PVPL expressed, “We salute the spirit of Indian films and encourage more such global cultural exchange. Piaggio being an Italian brand, River to River was the ideal fit. Amongst our strong portfolio, the Vespa stands for similar attributes as in film making- that of creativity, colour, fun, trendy, different, unique and niche. We therefore found it perfectly befitting a gift to be awarded to the winning feature film director at the festival. It is a matter of great pride and honour for me to give away the Vespa.”
Commenting on the announcement, Selvaggia Velo, River to River said, “Piaggio is one of the most respected brands the world over. And needless to say, the Vespa is an iconic scooter that has its roots in Italy. It gives us immense happiness to collaborate with them and give away the Vespa as a gift to the winner. We are looking forward to having Mr. Chopra with us at the event, it will be a memorable experience. What makes this season more special is the presence of superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Thus, we will have two icons at the festival this year- Amitabh Bachchan and the Vespa!”
River to River celebrates this important year for Indian cinema as it turns 100. Commemorating the birth of the film industry, River to River will present a restored version of the very first Indian film, Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke, in collaboration with the National Film Archive of India. The week-long extravaganza will take India to the beautiful city of Florence, giving a stage to all those Indian films that have an interesting and unique story to tell.
–Industry Press Release