Tenute Rubino > Salento Photography Tellers > Salento Finibus Terrae

Cinema and wine for the public image of Salento

Wine and cinema together, to promote the territory’s excellences and cultural identities. It’s taking place in Salento, an area of southern Italy where innovation, tradition and culture are the marks of an enlightened territory enjoying a strong productive upswing; an area which tells the story of a different, entrepreneurial Mezzogiorno. Coherently with this perspective, Tenute Rubino – a firm which embodies 'Apulia’s oenological renaissance' – has become sponsor and partner of the International Short Film Festival 'Salento Finibus Terrae': one of the most interesting and innovative events on the film festival calendar, which has reached its eight edition in 2010.

'For high-quality wine, the territory is as essential as scenery is for cinema' – Luigi Rubino, the young manager of the Brindisian winery, explains – 'thus we have established a partnership with Romeo Conte, creator of the Finibus Terrae Festival, with whom we share the objective of promoting and valorising Salento. Cinema, like wine, generates passions, emotions, and long-lasting memories; both have the power to represent places, lifestyles and culture with a direct and universal language.
Indeed, Salento is the ideal environment for wine as well as for Cinema: 'ancient and sun-drenched lands, enclosed by the seas, where the farmer’s work and nature strike a perfect balance' – continues Luigi Rubino – 'giving life to a millenary and flourishing agriculture. The vineyards skimming the sea, the olive trees which seem to touch the sky, the yellow stones of the manor farms: these are the elements of an ideal southern landscape, increasingly celebrated by Italian contemporary cinema. We want to build new communication synergies upon this territory’s cultural and promotional significance; we must dare to do more' – concludes Luigi Rubino – 'because new strategies are necessary to unveil Salento’s treasures to the greater public'.

(awards at the Salento Finibus Terrae 2009)

The 'Cinema – Food' event was of particular significance. It took place on Friday the 30th of July at the Movie Village – headquarters of Salento Finibus Terrae – by the Dominican cloister in San Vito dei Normanni, with the participation of Luigi Rubino, Nico Cirasola, Dante Marmone, Alessandro Contessa and Alberto Magli.

During the closing days of the 2010 edition of the Festival, Tenute Rubino opened its doors to several young actors and renowned artists who represent the important names of Italian Cinema, such as: Corrado Fortuna (the very young actor from Palermo who debuted in 2002 as the protagonist of My Name is Tanino, the bittersweet story of a Sicilian boy who discovers America), Regina Orioli (the charming and promising roman actress who debuted, at twenty years old, as the alluring high-school student whom Edoardo Gabbriellini falls for in Ovosodo), Sergio Fiorentini (a historic dubber for actors such as Gene Hackman and Bill Cosby, as well as interpreter of several TV series, among which Il Maresciallo Rocca), Andrea Zaccariello (a renowned director of TV ads, such as 'Amadori' and 'Wind' with Ezio Greggio), Alessandro Benvenuti (a very popular autor, actor, theatrical and motion-picture director, who started his career in cabaret during the Seventies and who made his cinematic debut in 1982 with the comedy Ad ovest di Paperino), and Salvatore Cantalupo (the Neapolitan actor who rose to worldwide fame thanks to his role in the national and international blockbuster Gomorrah).

The Closing Gala Night, which took place on Sunday the 1st of August at Specchiolla’s Riva Marina Resort, was of particular importance for the Brindisian firm: Luigi Rubino personally presented the winner with the Best Director – Italian Short Film Award, sponsored by his firm. All the winners and guests of the 8th edition of Salento Finibus Terrae received a magnum of Visellio from Tenute Rubino’s reserve. But the partnership did not end here: for the entire duration of Salento Finibus Terrae, from 10.00 AM to 12.00 PM, Tenute Rubino staged an informative desk at the Movie Village. Furthermore, the firm’s wines were served at all the dinners on the programme, including the final gala dinner. 

(Salento Finibus Terrae 2009)

The partnership with Romeo Conte’s Festival does not stop here. The Brindisian firm, true to its objective of strengthening the promotion of wine through images, has decided to embrace the field of photography by introducing – during the latest instalment of the Salento Finibus Terrae – the first edition of the Salento Photography Tellers contest. This wide-ranging project embodies Tenute Rubino’s will to gather high-quality images, contents and documents which describe and give credit to the fascinating splendor of Salento. The photographers intending to participate should comb Salento’s coastlands and hinterland, seeking out places of cultural and naturalistic significance and attempting to narrate them from their own personal, inspiring point of view. Moreover, to further strengthen this recent partnership, the official display of the photography Contest’s winning and most significant pictures will take place within the 2011 edition of the Salento Finibus Terrae.

Ultimately, the main objective of Salento Photography Tellers is to incentivize knowledge of this pleasant land, with a particular focus on its two most distinctive traits: its maritime environment and its ancient viticultural traditions.