30. Film Festival della Lessinia
Bosco Chiesanuova (Italia)
23 August - 1 September 2024

Robert Conway, a British diplomat based in China, is forced to leave the country precipitously with his brother George because of the political instability that pervades the country in the mid-thirties. On the return journey, his plane crashes into the Himalayan mountains. Lost in the loneliness of the plateau, the two brothers, along with their few traveling companions, are rescued by Chang, a mysterious man who leads them to the community of Shangri-La, built in a valley isolated from the rest of the world. Sheltered from the wars and conflicts that disrupt the history of humanity, Shangri-La is a place out of time, in which life flows in a different way. The first and most famous of the film adaptations of James Hilton's novel of the same name, Lost Horizon is also one of Frank Capra's most complex productions. A careful restoration by the American Film Institute returned the film to its to the original scenographic grandeur which, along with the the extraordinary photography, make it one of the great classics from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

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  Frank Capra

  Frank Capra (Bisaquino, 1897 – La Quinta, 1991), amongst the greatest directors in the history of the American cinema, emigrated to the US and became one of the most influential artists of his time. His films, in particular the comedies, including It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) represent the grandiose production capabilities of the Golden Age of Hollywood.