Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2015
For 14 years, Open Roads has proudly offered to North American audiences the most diverse and extensive lineup of contemporary Italian film available. This year’s program strikes a satisfying balance between emerging talents and esteemed veterans—as well as (at least) one master: Ermanno Olmi, among the nation’s leading lights for over half a century. As always, the series includes both commercial and independent fare, ranging from stage adaptations to biopics, warm human comedies to experimental dramas. Experience the best of Italian cinema today, with in-person appearances by many of the filmmakers.
Programmed by Isa Cucinotta and Dennis Lim. Open Roads: New Italian Cinema was organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center together with Istituto Luce Cinecittà in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.
Don’t miss “Guardando con Michelangelo Antonioni,” an exhibition of Renato Zacchia’s rare photographs of Antonioni taken during the shoot of one of his final documentaries (Sicily, 1997). Event organized by EVOL Design.
Special thanks to Kim R. Brizzolara; The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation; Antonio Monda; Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò; the Italian Trade Commission.
Lineup
Latin Lover
Opening Night | North American Premiere
Q&A with Cristina Comencini on June 4
The lovers and offspring of Italy’s most popular movie star (and most prolific ladies’ man), played by an all-star international cast, gather in his hometown on the 10th anniversary of his passing to piece together the puzzle of his life.
9 x 10 Novanta
North American Premiere
Nine shorts by 10 young Italian filmmakers (including The Wonders writer-director, Alice Rohrwacher) comprised of archival material from the Istituto Luce in honor of its 90th anniversary, give light to rare material unseen for decades.
Chlorine
Q&A with Sara Serraiocco on June 7
In this sensitively wrought drama that screened in competition at Berlin and Sundance, 17-year-old Jenny (Salvo's Sara Serraiocco) must abandon dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer to hold her family together after her mother’s unexpected death and her father’s subsequent nervous breakdown.
The Dinner
North American Premiere
Q&A with Ivano De Matteo on June 5
An all-star cast shows the intense moral struggle facing two wealthy brothers and their wives after their teenage children brutally beat a homeless man. Winner of four prizes at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
Greenery Will Bloom Again
The Ice Forest
North American Premiere
Q&A with actor Adriano Giannini on June 7
Claudio Noce proves himself to be a master of suspense with this heart-pounding thriller involving foul play and human trafficking set on the Italian-Slovenian border, shot with a swooping grace befitting its majestic Alpine setting. With Emir Kusturica in a supporting role!
The Invisible Boy
North American Premiere
An unpopular 13-year-old boy suddenly discovers he has the ability to become invisible, and gets pulled into a new world of mystery, intrigue, and responsibility in this superhero fantasy from Gabriele Salvatores (I’m Not Scared) that harkens back to adventure classics of the 1980s.
An Italian Name
North American Premiere
Q&A with Francesca Archibugi on June 6
A dinner party takes a turn for the volatile when the topic turns to the name of the hosts’ unborn child in this uproariously un-PC variation on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
The Lack
North American Premiere
Q&A with MASBEDO on June 4
Directing duo MASBEDO bridges the gap between the worlds of video art and narrative filmmaking in this poetic work of pure cinema, a vignette-based investigation of the meaning of “lack” through the journeys of six women on the Aeolean Islands.
Leopardi
A luscious portrait of the great Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi, from his days as the toast of Florentine literary circles to his death in the Neapolitan countryside.
Money Buddies
North American Premiere
Better Call Saul, Italian-style! In this timeless and fun buddy comedy, an unscrupulous lawyer and a penniless man just released from jail after 30 years for a crime he didn’t commit team up in the hopes of suing the state for big cash.
N-Capace
North American Premiere
Q&A with Eleonora Danco on June 5
This sparklingly imaginative autobiographical story of playwright/director/actress Danco evokes the spirit of Fellini’s 8 ½ and sometimes pulls people of all ages on the street into its fanciful stagings that, even at their lightest, belie a deep poignancy.
Natural Resistance
World-renowned sommelier and director of Mondovino Jonathan Nossiter offers a strong case in favor of organic wines from an environmental and political perspective in this must-see for any foodie.
Short Skin
North American Premiere
Q&A with Duccio Chiarini on June 5
A 17-year-old who suffers from phimosis (a congenital problem with the foreskin) yearns to lose his virginity while his family struggles with sexual issues of their own in Duccio Chiarini’s endearing and hilarious coming-of-age tale.
So Far So Good
North American Premiere
Five students who’ve shared an apartment—and their many joys and sorrows—must part ways in this perceptive character study about the terrifying prospect of adulthood that won multiple prizes at the Rome International Film Festival.
The State-Mafia Pact
North American Premiere
Disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is only the tip of the sleazy iceberg in Sabina Guzzanti’s bombshell hybrid documentary that shows the collaboration between high-ranking government officials and the mafia in the early 1990s.
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