Cuneo will be, once again, the protagonist of the smile: the Argonauta Association with its president Andrea Girard confirms the third weekend of September for the event dedicated to comedy.
Thanks to the partnership with the Municipality of Cuneo, this event brought in the city during last editions, guests such as Gene Gnocchi, Dario Vergassola and Piero Chiambretti, Renato Pozzetto, Serena Dandini, Teresa Mannino, Anna Mazzamauro passing through Ale and Franz , Elio e le storie Tese, Platinette and the late Paolo Villaggio.
The Festival has gone beyond the local borders and it attracts spectators even from the neighbouring provinces, thanks to the choice of offering free performances to the citizens, animating Piazza Virginio and Piazza Foro Boario but also other places in the city.
This year the Festival broadens its horizons to the social world. To start the events on Friday 20th September will be the Turin actors of the “Casa del teatro ragazzi e giovani” of Turin, that at 6pm in Piazza Foro Boario will stage a show based on the adventures of Pinocchio, the unforgettable novel for adults and children written by Carlo Collodi, with a special attention to the allegories of modern society and its contradictions.
At 8 pm, in Piazza Foro Boario, the volunteers of Coni Vip (association of clown-therapists engaged since 2008 in the hospital wards of the Cuneo province) will perform in “Red Noses in lane”. At 9.45 pm at Open Baladin in Piazza Foro Boario, Filippo Giardina will perform a desecrating stand-up comedy, a theatrical genre in constant growth, which has also landed for a few months on Netflix with a single goal: to make spectators laugh.
Music will open the programme scheduled for Saturday 21st September. The first guest will be the great Mogol who, at 4pm, will go on stage in Piazza Virginio telling anecdotes and songs that made the history of Italian music. Next, at 5 pm, the official inauguration will be held in the presence of the city authorities and the main project partners (CRT Foundation, CRC Foundation, UbiBanca and Open Baladin), institutional partners such as the Cuneo ATL, the associations of category Confcommercio Cuneo and We Cuneo, Conitours, Ascom Bra, ACA Alba and Confartigianato Cuneo and all the sponsors (Wedge Power, San Bernardo, Fattorie Fiandino, Marval, Dulcioliva, LPM prefabbricati and Raineri Vini).
After the official greetings, at 5.45 pm, Filippo Roma will talk about the artistic and working experiences that led him to become one of the most known faces of the “Le Iene” inquiry programme. At 6.30 pm Andrea Roncato will take the scene of the Festival and tell his artistic path. Became famous in the 1980s along with Gigi Sammarchi in the comic duo “Gigi and Andrea”, the Bolognese actor also starred on small and large screens, with programs, films and TV series.
From an icon of Italian comedy to a “new face” – but very well known – of TV: Maurizio Lastrico, who will go on stage in Piazza Virginio at 9.30pm. He has always been a theatre actor as well as a comedian, he has acted in “Zelig” and “Camerá Caffè” and was appreciated as a protagonist in the last season of “Don Matteo” and in the monologues at “Le Iene”.
Sunday, September 22nd, at 3pm in Piazza Virginio the show will go on with the musical show “L’ora canonica”. Following Tony Sperandeo will be in Piazza Virginio for 4.30pm: the great Italian dramatic actor (winner of the David di Donatello Best Supporting Actor Award in 2001 for the role of Gaetano Badalamenti in the film “I cento passi”) has the cabaret in the heart and can’t wait to entertain all the participants. Immediately after, at 5.15 pm, space will be given to Giovanni Cacioppo, a comedian who became famous thanks to “Zelig”, “Colorado Cafè” and “Mai dire Martedì”. At 6 pm it will be the turn of the legendary Alvaro Vitali in art Pierino, a real cult movie, that will be presented on the stage in Piazza Virginio.
The task of closing the event dedicated to the smile will be entrusted to the “Trelilu”, which in Piazza Foro Boario, starting at 21.00 on Sunday 22 September, will stage their repertoire of comic sketches and original songs in dialect.
The event based on the collaboration of the “We Cuneo” association which launched the “Vetrine del Sorriso” for the occasion. The local merchants who will join the initiative will participate in a competition for the showcase dedicated to the most voted smile, while a large group of restaurateurs in the city centre will propose a “smile menu” during the days of the event.
Saturday 28th September, for the Festival del Sorriso, at the former Mater Amabilis campus (via Alessandro Ferraris of Celle 2 – Cuneo), “Laughing seriously – Laughter as a language of the soul” will be held: a training event for teachers , parents, educators, health and social workers and the curious.
The day includes theoretical meetings in the morning and practical workshops in the afternoon. At 8.30 am welcome greetings and presentation of “The greatness of the little ones”, a project selected by the Social Enterprise ““Con i Bambini” ” as part of the Fund for combating child educational poverty.
And then the relationships, interspersed with moments of artistic improvisation: “L’incontenibile leggerezza dell’essere: ridere per vivere? L’umorismo come risorsa per la ricerca di senso” , teaching and learning with humor. “L’importanza di un pensiero complesso nella società del XXI secolo” by Chiara Carletti,” “Dal mimo al meme: evoluzioni della ricerca delle buone emozioni” by Alberto Parola. Dthe afternoon, starting at 2pm, the workshop “Umorismo ed ironia nella famiglia e nelle relazioni private: riso quotidiano. Il potere dell’umorismo nelle relazioni quotidiane” by Valentina Gagliardi, “Umorismo ed ironia nel digitale: narriamoci ‘in meme’” by Carlo Meneghetti and “Umorismo ed ironia nella partica professionale e a scuola: ironia, life e soft skills per favorire un clima positivo di classe” by Chiara Carletti.
The initiative is organised in collaboration with the cooperative “Insieme a Voi”, “Alice”, “Armonia”, “Proposta 80” and is part of the project “La Grandezza dei Piccoli” involving 84 partners of the Province.
