Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2011
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Risorgimento—the movement that created modern Italy from a group of disparate states—Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is proud to present the premiere of Mario Martone’s We Believed, an epic reconstruction and re-imagination of the political and social forces that led to Italian independence. As a complement, we are also […]
Lineup
Gianni Di Gregorio
2011|
Italy|
90 minutes|
Italian
The writer-director of the delightful Mid-August Lunch returns with the charming tale of a man in Rome putting up with retired life and family. Gianni Di Gregorio in person on June 1!
Alessandro Blasetti
1934|
Italy|
82 minutes|
Italian
Followed by a panel discussion!
Admired by the Neo-Realists, Blasetti’s rousing anthem to Italian unification chronicles the panoramic journey of a Sicilian peasant to Garibaldi’s headquarters. Please note: We will be screening a 16mm archive print which cannot be cut and mounted onto one reel. There will be brief pauses for reel changes.
Aureliano Amadei
2010|
Italy|
94 minutes|
Italian
A young antiwar activist heads to Iraq to work on a film and quickly finds himself a victim of sectarian violence and, soon, an unlikely hero. Director Aureliano Amadei in person on June 1!
Sergio Castellitto
2010|
Italy|
96 minutes|
Italian
In a wry, perceptive update of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, a successful architect (Castellitto) and his wife (Laura Morante) meet their daughter’s new boyfriend. Actor Marco Giallini in person on June 2!
Lucio Pellegrini
2010|
Italy|
102 minutes|
Italian
After botching a high-profile kidnapping, a group of disillusioned northeasterners are forced to learn how to coexist under absurd and clandestine conditions. Director Lucio Pellegrini in person on June 5!
Giorgia Cecere
2010|
Italy|
90 minutes|
Italian
A hit at the Venice film festival, Cecere’s stunning debut follows a young teacher (wonderful Isabelle Ragonese) whose first posting brings her to a hardscrabble village with wild children and parents to whom she can hardly speak. Director Giorgia Cecere in person on June 6!
Roberta Torre
2010|
Italy|
80 minutes|
Italian
In this playful satire, the theft of a Madonna statue’s head seems to trigger visions in 13-year-old Manuela, which are quickly exploited by her dysfunctional family.
Alessandro D’Alatri
2010|
100 minutes|
Italian
In a beautiful, stunningly immediate rendering of a love affair’s first flowering, a tour-guide and a student from Genoa strike up a bond. Director Alessandro d’Alatri in person on June 3!
Carlo Mazzacurati
2010|
Italy|
106 minutes|
Italian
After a leak in his Tuscan apartment destroys a chapel’s fresco, a has-been director agrees to stage some Good Friday celebrations, which quickly turn challenging… Director Carlo Mazzacurati in person June 2!
Giovanni Taviani
2011|
Italy|
82 minutes|
Italian
Shining as personal memoir and journey through cinema, Taviani’s touching film takes a beautiful look at the islands that have inspired Rossellini (Stromboli), Antonioni (L’Avventura), the Taviani Brothers (Kaos), and more. Director Giovanni Taviani in person on June 2!
Marco Bellocchio
2010|
Italy|
105 minutes|
Italian
Marco Bellocchio returns to his hometown Bobbio, and to the house in which he shot “Fists in the Pocket”, to narrate the story of the hopes, disappointments and yearnings of his own family.
Saverio Costanzo
2010|
Italy / Germany / France|
118 minutes|
Italian
A film not easily forgotten, Costanzo’s richly told adaptation of the massive best-seller is set at four crucial moments in the lives of two perennial loners. Actress Alba Rohrwacher in person on June 1!
Mario Martone
2010|
Italy / France|
205 minutes|
Italian
U.S. Premiere!
In this engrossing epic reconstruction of Italy’s 19th-century path to independence, three men find themselves plunged into the fearsome double binds of revolution and sacrifice. Director Mario Martone in person on June 4 & 7!
Giulio Manfredonia
2011|
Italy|
96 minutes|
Italian
U.S Premiere!
In this delicious and wildly popular political satire, an unscrupulous entrepreneur returns to his suddenly law-abiding hometown and resolves to enter politics. Actor Antonio Albanese in person on June 3!
Luca Lucini
2010|
Italy / UK|
96 minutes|
Italian
Lucini’s sharply observed comedy with a dark underlining follows romantically wounded Leonardo back into the family fold and into new love. With a superb Stefania Sandrelli. Director Luca Lucini in person on June 4!
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Risorgimento—the movement that created modern Italy from a group of disparate states—Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is proud to present the premiere of Mario Martone’s We Believed, an epic reconstruction and re-imagination of the political and social forces that led to Italian independence. As a complement, we are also featuring Alessandro Blasetti’s 1860, another look at the Risorgimento made at a very different moment of history. Faithful followers of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema will find a number of favorite directors from the past—among them, Sergio Castellitto, Roberta Torre, Gabriele Salvatores and Andrea Molaioli—as well as a new film, The Salt of Life, by Gianni Di Gregorio, whose Mid-August Lunch is surely one of the best-loved Italian films in recent years. Finally, we’re delighted to feature the U.S. premiere of Giulio Manfredonia’s Whatsoeverly, a delicious political satire that has become one of the most popular Italian films ever made. This new generation of Italian filmmakers continues to open up and explore new areas of Italian life and culture, telling new stories in surprisingly new ways.
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema has been organized by The Film Society of Lincoln Center together with Cinecittà Luce- Filmitalia. With the support of Ministero per i Beni e le Attivitá Culturali (Direzione Generale per il Cinema), Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Trade Commission, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. Special thanks to the Italian Trade Commission-ICE Los Angeles, the Alexander Bodini Foundation, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimó and Antonio Monda for their generous support.
