"They are crazy, drunk with the sun! But they live using a power known by few of us: the power of imagination!". With these words the famous Italian director, Roberto Rossellini, one of the biggest names of the Italian Neorealism, defined the inhabitants of the Amalfi coast when journalists asked him why he chose this location as a film set of four of his masterpieces: "Paisà" (1946), "Il Miracolo" (the second episode of the film "L'Amore" - 1948), "La Macchina Ammazzaccattivi" (1952) and "Viaggio in Italia" (1953).
The Amalfi coast and Maiori, in particular, framed both the so called "Maiori's period" of the famous Italian director, and the turbulent love affair between Rossellini and Anna Magnani, their refuge in a typical "monazzeno" (fishermen's house) in the fjord of Furore, the letters sent by Ingrid Bergman who wanted to meet the director (in one of those letters she said to him that the only Italian words she knew were "ti amo"), the frequent scenes of jealousy of Nannarella who interrupted their love dream throwing a plate of spaghetti with tomato on Rossellini's face.
After half a century, the Association Maiori Film Festival paid homage to the great Italian director organizing the "Roberto Rossellini International Award", allowing cinema students and young directors to create short films that will be evaluated by a team of experts.