FIMUCITÉ celebrates reaching its halfway point with the “Cinema e Paradiso” concert at Teatro Leal de La Laguna

- This Thursday, the music of great Italian cinema classics, by maestros such as Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and Nicola Piovani, will be performed by soloists from the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema, alongside the Orquesta Filarmónica de Tenerife and a stellar performance by celebrated bandoneonist Héctor Ulises Passarella.
-Composer Pino Donaggio, a frequent collaborator of Brian De Palma and the author of music for films such as 'Carrie' and 'Dressed to Kill', will take the stage as our guest of honour to collect the FIMUCITÉ Award.

The Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife (FIMUCITÉ) continues with the programme of its nineteenth edition, dedicated to Italy and its historical and cultural legacy. This Thursday, July 3rd, one of our most anticipated concerts, "Cinema e Paradiso", will take place at the Teatro Leal in La Laguna. Tickets have been sold out for weeks for the concert, which will offer an unforgettable journey through the greatest hits of Italian cinema, its most outstanding soundtracks, and the great masters, from Ennio Morricone, with titles such as "The Mission," "Cinema Paradiso," and "Once Upon a Time in America"; to Nino Rota, remembered for his collaborations with Federico Fellini, which produced the scores for "La Dolce Vita" and "Amarcord," as well as composer of the music for "The Godfather"; and the legendary Pino Donaggio ("Carrie," "Dressed to Kill"), renowned for his collaborations with Brian De Palma, who will participate as our guest of honor.

The concert was announced at a press conference in the Sala de Cámara del Teatro Leal, attended by the mayor of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez; the director of FIMUCITÉ, Diego Navarro; the director of the Rome Film Music Festival, Marco Patrignani; the recital director, Stefano Nanni; the bandoneon player, Héctor Ulises Passarella; and the Vice Consul of Italy in Tenerife, Gianluca Cappelli Bigazzi. The mayor asserted that "for La Laguna, FIMUCITÉ is not simply a festival; it is a shared commitment to artistic creation and the international projection of Tenerife as a cultural landmark." He also highlighted the work of Diego Navarro and his team, as they "achieve something very complicated: offering shows that move a diverse audience of all ages."

In the words of Diego Navarro: “It has been a year's to get here. La Laguna has a very important, vital and essential place in FIMUCITÉ, and from the festival we wanted the great thematic concert of this edition, related to Italy, its cinema and its music, to take place here, in the Teatro Leal in La Laguna”. Navarro highlighted the presence of maestro Stefano Nanni, director of the concert and piano soloist, as well as “the absolutely wonderful opportunity to have Héctor Ulises Pasarella, one of the best bandoneon players in the world, original soloist of the score of “The Postman (Il Postino)” and the presence of Pino Donaggio, who, as he revealed, will receive the FIMUCITÉ – Antón García Abril Award in recognition of his career.

For his part, Héctor Ulises Pasarella stated that Thursday "is going to be a very special night as I'm going to play the music of 'Il Postino' once again, a soundtrack which has been my travelling companion for more than 30 years."

“Cinema e Paradiso” will also feature pieces by Nicola Piovani, Oscar winner for "Life is Beautiful"; Luis Bacalov, director of the Oscar-winning "The Postman (Il Postino)"; and a tribute to Bernardo Bertolucci's film "Last Tango in Paris," with music by legendary Argentine composer and saxophonist Gato Barbieri.

This concert is an original production by FIMUCITÉ, in collaboration with the Roma Film Music Festival, with support from La Laguna City Council, the Organismo Autónomo de Actividades Musicales de La Laguna, and Mutua Tinerfeña. Conducted by Stefano Nanni, who will also be the piano soloist, the programme will feature soloists from the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema, a group conducted by Ennio Morricone, along with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Tenerife and a star appearance by Héctor Ulises Passarella, one of the world's finest bandoneon players and original soloist on the soundtrack of "The Postman (Il Postino)." It will also feature appearances by Jairo Cabrera (trumpet/soprano saxophone and clarinet) and soprano Estefanía Rodríguez.

FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy
This Tuesday, July 1st marks the start of the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy (FFSA) programme. It runs annually alongside the concerts of the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife, in its commitment to specialised training in the creation of music for the screen. Under the academic direction of Professor Débora Madrid Brito, of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of La Laguna (ULL), it was conceived as a university extension course that will combine expository master classes with interactive roundtable discussions and participatory workshops. Beyond addressing the phenomenon of music for the screen by focusing on the analysis of the Gladiator phenomenon, this year we will attempt to contextualize the historical moment in which the film is set. Music for Italian cinema will also be a central point of the FFSA.

This free event will be held at the Espacio Mutua Tinerfeña in La Laguna on July 1st and 4th, and at the Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on July 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th. It will feature prominent speakers such as singer-songwriter Lisa Gerrard, who will take to the stage at the Auditorio de Tenerife on July 11th and 12th to participate in the live-to-picture concerts "Gladiator in Concert."

The University of La Laguna, via  the Vice-Rector's Office for Culture and University Outreach, will issue a certificate of attendance to all those who attend at least 80% of the class hours. Likewise, those who pass the independent work required of students will receive a certificate of attendance and achievement, which will be recognised as an ECTS credit.

‘Érase una vez la música para el cine italiano’ Exhibition
Furthermore, from this Tuesday until July 10th, the Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias in Santa Cruz de Tenerife will host the exhibition "Érase una vez la música para el cine italiano" in the lobby of its Auditorium. A free exhibition of posters for essential classics from Italian cinema can be visited Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday mornings. This exhibition, which will delight film buffs and film music lovers, is in collaboration with the Italian Vice Consulate in Tenerife.

Support
The Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife, FIMUCITÉ, of worldwide renown in its genre, created and directed by composer and conductor Diego Navarro, will hold its nineteenth edition between the 7th of June and the 12th of July 2025, with the support of the Cabildo de Tenerife and Turismo de Tenerife as its main sponsors, Gobierno de Canarias via Instituto Canario de Desarollo Cultural, the city councils of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna, and the Organismo Autónomo de Actividades Musicales de La Laguna. FIMUCITÉ also thanks the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Auditorio de Tenerife for their involvement, as well as other public and private partners, including Mutua Tinerfeña, Distrito Centro-Ifara of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Fundación DISA, Emmasa, Domingo Alonso, and AUDI as the official festival car, Fundación SGAE and Fundación CajaCanarias. Grupo Plató del Atlántico, Fundación Diario de Avisos, RTVE, Televisión Canaria and SoundTrackFes will take part as main media partners.