Raphael – The Lord of the Arts premieres in 3D at Eden Cinemas on 1 November

As part of its arts on screen series, Eden Cinemas presents Raphael – the Lord of the Arts, the first ever film adaptation of Raphael Sanzio and his art (1483-1520). The premiere of the 3D film will be held on 1 November.

Enlightening commentary from the experts takes us on a journey starting from Urbino (where Raphael was born), stopping off in Florence and continuing on to Rome and the Vatican, which represent both the peak of Raphael’s brilliant artistic career and its epilogue.

The story is told through a total of 20 locations and 70 artworks, more than 30 by Raphael, as well as with numerous exclusive interviews and original opinions.

The historical reconstructions are inspired by 18th century paintings (a period during which the artist was considered very much a cult-figure) and representing a kind of “figurative testament”. They are depicting fragments of Raphael’s life, like snapshot moments. They give a sensitive, subtle impression of the artist’s life and evoke an emotional response from the audience, increasing their involvement through each chapter of expert commentary.

Lending his face to Raphael Sanzio for these historical reconstructions is actor and director Flavio Parenti (To Rome With Love, Io sono l’amore, Un Matrimonio). La Fornarina, the woman the artist loved, is played by Angela Curri ( La mafia uccide solo d’estate), with Enrico Lo Verso as Giovanni Santi and Marco Cocci as Pietro Bembo. Set design and costumes are by two of the finest talents in Italian cinema, Francesco Frigeri and Maurizio Millenotti, respectively.

Raphael: The Lord of the Arts will be showing exclusively at Eden Cinemas for a very limited. For a cinematic experience into the life and works of Raphael Sanzo log onto http://www.edencinemas.com.mt/E vent/3036/

The B&W photo is of the well-head and gibbet in their original setting at Villa Frere (courtesy ‘Country Life’ magazine) while the colour photo is of the artefact as it stood at Casa Leoni in Sta Venera before the restoration started