Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan Named Founding Artistic Director Of Sag Harbor Cinema

A preeminent voice on American cinema, New York-based film writer and curator Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan serves as U.S. programmer and selection committee member of the Venice Film Festival where she has held these positions since 2008.

Now, she's officially joining the staff of the Sag Harbor Cinema as its founding artistic director where she will be responsible for programming and curating.

“We hope the public is aware of Giulia’s deep commitment to the Cinema, and the tremendous impact she has already had with our various film series presented as an itinerant organization until the Cinema is built, including ‘American Values,’ ‘Artists Love Movies,’ ‘Present Tense,’ and currently ‘Really Funny.’ for which she asked her friend John Landis to curate," said cinema board president April Gornik. "We are so fortunate to have a brilliant and well-connected person with this endeavor.”

"Giulia brings quality and vision to programming our three screens," added Gillian Gordon, the cinema's executive director. "Her international status as an outstanding artistic director demonstrates that the Sag Harbor Cinema is punching way above its weight.”

Ms. D'Agnolo Vallan was co-director of the Turin Film Festival from 2003 to 2006, years that marked the festival’s rise to international prominence as a major showcase of independent world cinema and in-depth retrospectives, organized with the support of major film archives, museums and private collections. Her series have been featured at renowned institutions worldwide, including the Film Forum and the Museum of Moving Image in New York, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, La Cinémathèque Française in Paris, and the Brisbane and Melbourne Film Festivals.

Ms. D’Agnolo Vallan’s work as a writer and curator introduced Italians to American independent filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow, Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater, Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mary Harron, S. Craig Zahler, Darren Aronofsky and Brady Corbett. Her books include monographs devoted to Clint Eastwood, John Carpenter, George Romero, Walter Hill, John Milius, Robert Aldrich, William Friedkin and John Landis.

Ms. D’Agnolo Vallan’s involvement in the Sag Harbor Cinema started in 2009. She was responsible, together with producer Andrew Fierberg, for the original proposal that has served as the blueprint for the new cinema.