San Diego Italian Film Fest is back at La Paloma on Sept. 15

After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the San Diego Italian Film Festival will return to the historic La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas on Thursday, Sept. 15 with a screening of the comedy “Mine Vaganti” (Loose Cannons).

The screening will kick off the festival’s return to La Paloma while celebrating its late founder and president Victor Laruccia, who passed away in March of this year. The movie is set in the southern Italian region of Puglia, where Laruccia’s family hails from. The 2010 film is an incisive, yet funny, examination of family, business and identity.

In honor of Laruccia, the festival will treat moviegoers to a pre-show complimentary gelato treat from local company GelatoLove and live Italian music played by violinist Heidi Yenney. The slightly higher ticket price for the Sept. 15 event will help raise much-needed funds that will allow San Diego Italian Film Festival (SDIFF) to continue to provide the programming and Italian perspective that audiences have grown to love and expect.

SDIFF will present an award-winning, recent movie every month at La Paloma. SDIFF’s 16th edition of its feStivale will also return to live screenings on Oct. 12-22 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park as well as with a screening at Digital Gym in Downtown San Diego and a screening at La Paloma Theatre on Oct. 16.

Tickets for the Sept. 15 screening can be purchased for $20 online or at the box office (cash only) the day of the event. Movies are in Italian with English subtitles. For more information, visit www.sandiegoitalianfilmfestival.com