Antonio Monda on Cinema, Literature, and the Festa del Cinema di Roma

Antonio Monda, known for seamlessly bridging literature and cinema through his 'Le Conversazioni' events in Capri, Rome, New York, and Bogotà, discusses his aspirations and regrets ahead of the Festa del Cinema di Roma. He laments never bringing Cormac McCarthy to the festival and wishes he could have involved Philip Roth, Ernest Hemingway, and Jorge Luis Borges. Monda recalls a meeting at his New York home between architect Renzo Piano and Philip Roth, where they debated whether architecture is an art form and discussed cinema—Roth favoring American classics like 'On the Waterfront,' Piano preferring Fellini and Antonioni. On streaming platforms, Monda acknowledges the need to engage with Netflix, Amazon, and Apple but stresses that cinema is a communal experience best enjoyed on a big screen, not on a PC, tablet, or TV. He opposes Amazon's censorship of Woody Allen's latest film and hopes it will be seen soon. Monda sees the Festa del Cinema as both a celebration and a reflection of cinema's difficult moment. He emphasizes the importance of balancing blockbusters with quality films, noting that blockbusters fund more serious works. He rejects the notion that Italy has a monopoly on cinematic extremes, citing the US, France, and Britain. Regarding technology, he comments on Steven Soderbergh's iPhone-shot 'Unsane' and Soderbergh's concerns about justifying film budgets, arguing that excessive spending is often outside production and editing.