Italy 2005, Italian with English subtitles, 35mm, 96 min
Director: Cristiano Bortone
Screenplay: Cristiano Bortone, Monica Zapelli, Paolo Sassanelli
Cinematography: Vladan Radovic
Cast: Luca Capriotti, Paolo Sassanelli, Marco Cocci, Simone Colombari, Rosanna Gentili
Print Source: Adriana Chiesa Enterprises Srl
Red Like the Sky is based on the true story of Mirco Mencacci, one of Italy 's most famous sound editors. The film begins in 1971 with Mirco as a lively 10-year old who is crazy about the movies. One day, while playing with an old rifle, Mirco shoots himself in the face. He survives but loses his sight, and his parents are forced, according to the Italian law of the time, to send him to a school for the blind.
Initially Mirco is incensed at the fact that he is not allowed to attend a normal school. But when Mirco discovers a tape recorder and splicing machine, he finds that he can create stories composed only of sounds and his whole world opens up.
Mirco's new adventures are opposed by the school authorities who are convinced that sightlessness is an absolute handicap and that the schools pupils should not harbour illusions that they might perhaps survive in the real world. But Mirco remains ever feisty and his perseverance allows him and his classmates to rediscover their dreams. In the tradition of Cinema Paradiso, Red Like the Sky is a tribute to the power of cinema, and to Italian cinema in particular. It is a restrained, perfectly realised narrative.
The Cape Winelands will again at the 2012 edition of this festival present a series of Masterclasses and workshops. These events are sponsored by the City of Cape Town and Wesgro.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film has the magic of a fairy tale and the simplicity of a folk tale. Wonderfully immersive, slow and dreamy, 
