Capri fest sums up past year, offers a look ahead to ’16 – Top 10 pirated movies of 2015 see alarming increase in downloads

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LOS ANGELES, Dec 28, (RTRS): The Capri-Hollywood Intl Film Festival, marking its 20th anniversary this year, occupies a unique spot on the global festival circuit, serving as both a final summing up of the past year in indie cinema and as a look-ahead to 2016. Located on the storied Italian island off the coast of Naples — a longtime getaway for writers and artists — the popular event attracts both A-list stars and industry heavyweights.

This year’s edition will be presided over by Danish director Bille August and be dedicated to French actress Brigitte Bardot, who famously cavorted on the rooftop of the island’s Casa Malaparte in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt.”

Other notables who will be in attendance are Lina Wertmuller, who will serve as honorary president, and veteran studio exec Mark Canton, who will act as the event’s honorary chairperson.

Like a lot of festivals around this time of year, Capri will screen and honor an eclectic mix of European arthouse films and American independent releases that are attracting awards attention.

Drama

Heading the lineup is Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room,” the much-buzzed-about drama that stars Brie Larson, who is expected to attend in order to receive the festival’s actress honor, according to festival director Pascal Vicedomini. Larson will share the award with Paola Cortellesi, who stars in Massimiliano Bruni’s “Gli ultimi saranno ultimi.”

The fest will also spotlight such high-profile pics as Tom Hooper’s timely transgender drama “The Danish Girl,” starring Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) as artist Lili Elbe, and current “it girl” Alicia Vikander as his understanding and supportive wife. The film will receive a Humanitarian Award from the fest, which seems appropriate given the island’s historic reputation as a haven for gay aristocrats and intellectuals. The screening will by supported by a forum, held by the Young People Against Homophobia, to discuss current related issues in Italy.

Other fest highlights include “Brooklyn,” director John Crowley’s emotional story of a young Irish immigrant in the ’50s starring Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson and Emory Cohen; “Macbeth,” directed by Australian Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard; and “Youth” from Italian director and arthouse favorite Paolo Sorrentino (“The Great Beauty”).

Fest organizers deemed “Youth” as its European Film of the Year.

The movies that were the most pirated in 2015 may not come as much surprise-but how much they got pirated is sure to shock.

Some of the biggest blockbusters at the box office this year proved just as popular among torrent users: “Furious 7”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Jurassic World” were the top three worldwide, according to piracy tracking firm Excipio, which monitored activity from the beginning of the year through Dec 25.

When movies from 2014 are included in the tally, “Interstellar” was actually the most downloaded film of 2015, owing to the fact popular movies from the previous year spend more cumulative time in circulation among pirates. The same was true last year when the 2013 movie “Wolf of Wall Street” led the pack in 2014.

But “Wolf” drew just over 30 million downloads-55% less than the nearly 47 million that “Interstellar” commanded. If the four 2014 titles that made the 2015 list are factored in, “Wolf” would not have even made the top 10 list this year, as No. 10 movie, “The Secret Service,” grabbed 31 million downloads.

“Furious 7” atop the list isn’t a surprise given it has been a magnet for piracy since its April release.

 1) 46,762,310 Interstellar (2014)

2) 44,794,877 Furious 7 (2015)

3) 1,594,159 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

4) 36,881,763 Jurassic World (2015)

5) 36,443,244 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

6) 33,953,737 American Sniper (2014)

7) 32,126,827 Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

8) 31,574,872 The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armys 2014)

#9) 31,001,480 Terminator: Genisys (2015)

10) 30,922,987 The Secret Service (2014)

11) 26,792,863 Focus (2015)

12) 25,883,469 San Andreas (2015)

13) 23,495,140 The Minions (2015)

14) 22,734,070 Inside Out (2015).

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