Italy’s historic contribution to world cinema is well known. The films of directors such as Rossellini, Fellini, Antonioni, Bertolucci, Pasolini and many others have created a heritage that few other “national cinemas” can boast of. Many of the masterpieces, from Rossellini’s “Rome – Open City”, to Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” and Pasolini’s “Theorem” were born from an urgent need to address the “vital crises” afflicting the social, economic, political and cultural spheres of the nation in their times.

 

This film series introduces the Stanford community to a new generation of filmmakers that has revitalized Italian cinema through original explorations of contemporary Italian society. The “vital crisis” that now inspires these films is that of immigration from economically developing or politically unstable countries into Italy.

 

As Italians try to come to terms with rapid globalization and their own histories of migration and colonization, each of the unique and award-winning films presented in this series records a nation’s great upheaval through a variety of exciting and innovative cinematic styles.