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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 FEBRUARY 2021 7 CULTURE Chias book online presentation in Malta Malta-based Italian author Irene Chias in online presentation of 'Fiore d'agave, fiore di scimmia' THE Malta-based Italian author Irene Chias will be presenting her latest work 'Fiore d'agave, fiore di scimmia' in an online presentation hosted by the Ital- ian Cultural institute on 16 Feb- ruary, at 6pm. The online event is in collab- oration with Laurana Editore and under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Malta. Chias will be in conversation with fellow Malta resident Ma- ria Grazia Strano of Corriere di Malta. Fiore d'agave, fiore di scimmia Adelaide Dattilo is a writer who loves fantastic and dysto- pian literature, Philip Dick and H.P. Lovecraft. She has had two novels published that her boyfriend Simone finds creepy. Her agent pushes her to create something more commercial: a "Sicilian women's novel". So Adelaide decides to spend three weeks in her grandmoth- er's hometown: Sant'Angelo Muxaro. Here she begins to write a story of passions and ancient traditions, with Adela- sia as the main character. While her protagonist, de- stroyed by her boyfriend's be- trayal, finds herself and solves an ancient mystery, Adelaide faces the arrival of Simone, meets distant relatives and gets to know an elusive neighbour. The postcard country of her novel contrasts with the real one: emptied of possibilities, plagued by unemployment and abandonment, where dystopia is nothing but daily news. Led like Dick by the I-Ching, Ade- laide will deal with her origins and her present. Adelasia, ini- tially very far away, ends up re- sembling her author, as the two Sicilies, initially opposed, end up blending into each other. About the author Irene Chias was born in Sici- ly. After working as a journal- ist for several years in France and Milan, in 2019 she settled in Malta, where she writes as a freelancer for Italian mag- azines and newspapers, and runs the blog Molto Malta on TgCom24. Her short stories were published on literary magazines such as Nuovi Ar- gomenti, Granta Italia, Nuo- va Prosa, on newspapers such as la Repubblica and on several anthologies. Her second nov- el Esercizi di sevizia e seduzi- one, published by Mondadori on 2013, was awarded the Mondello Prize "Opera Ital- iana" and the "Mondello Gio- vani" in 2014. About Maria Grazia Strano Maria Grazia Strano was born in Catania and since 2008 she has lived in Malta where she spreads the love for the Ital- ian language in a prestigious college on the island. Grad- uated in Modern Literature with an experimental thesis on non-places in the cinema of Giuseppe Tornatore, since her childhood she has been fasci- nated by literature, cinema and art in all its forms. She has published several short stories. Since 2017 she has worked with Corriere di Malta and since 2019 she is the deputy director. THE first CineXjenza event of 2021 will be screening the doc- umentary ICARUS that uncov- ered major scandals in profes- sional sport. The documentary showed how pervasive doping is in the industry. When the whistleblower uncovered the extent in the Russian olympics team his life was in peril. This Oscar winner sets the scene for a discussion after the film with sports presenter and representa- tive of NADO Joanna Camilieri. BEFORE the 2016 Olympics, the New York Times published an article interpreting Dr. Rodchenkov's detailed confes- sion on how the Russian states sponsored cheating in the an- ti-doping test at 2014 Sochi Olympics games. ICARUS, by director Bryan Fogel, uncov- ered everything. Fogel did this by taking a drug routine as an amateur cyclist to demon- strate how Lance Amstrong did so for years. He is advised to get in touch with Dr. Grigo- ry Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping program. From delivering Fogel's urine to Russia until Dr. Rodchen- kov's escape to the USA, the doc provided us with the feel- ing that winning no matter the cost. The documentary will be followed by a discussion led by Joana Camillieri, who is a representative of NADO and a sports presenter, will be lead- ing the main discussion after the film. ĊineXjenza is supported by the STEAM project. It is run by S-Cubed, together with the Malta Chamber of Scientists, in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv. Screening of ICARUS, at Spazju Kreattiv Cinema