All films will start at 7.30 pm with a short introduction and projected on a large screen. The screening will be followed by a brief discussion.
April 8
Terra di mezzo (The In-Between Land) (1996) dir. Matteo Garrone
Running Length: 1:18
Director Matteo Garrone shot to worldwide fame after the release of his lastest film Gomorra, which won the Grand Prix at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Garrone’s lesser-known earlier films are no less ground-breaking, and Terra di Mezzo, his first full-length feature demonstrates all the elements that characterize his unique style.
Divided into three episodes, the film is a startling mix of narrative and reportage. Garrone examines a day in the life of Nigerian prostitutes in Rome’s dilapidated outskirts, then goes on to paint a keen portrait of two young Albanian men seeking a day’s worth of wages as manual laborers. The final episode is a striking study of an Egyptian immigrant who at night, transforms into an illegal gas station operator.
New Italian cinema at its best!
April 15
Lamerica (1994) dir. Gianni Amelio
Running Length: 1:55
Set in Albania during the collapse of the communist goverment in 1991, Lamerica follows an epic journey of Gino, an assistant to a shady Italian industrialist.
“In terms of the issues it addresses, Lamerica is an exceptionally rich film., and as much a dark comedy as a straight drama.” - James Berardinelli (www.reelnews.net)
April 22
Le fate ignoranti (His Secret Life) (2001) dir. Ferzan Ozpetek
“In the words of her own mother Veronica (Erica Blanc), Antonia (Margherita Buy) is a woman who was never very curious about life. She married her schoolmate Massimo and settled down for a very comfortable upper-class life in a large villa inclusive of a Philippine maid on a nice pond in a posh suburb of Rome. She gave up her post-doctoral ambitions and contented herself with working as a doctor in a laboratory for STDs. Yet Antonia’s life is shattered when her husband is run over and killed by two cars while he is crossing the street. Trying to come to terms with her loss, Antonia goes through her husband’s belongings in a search for memories of their life together. But an inscription in the back of a painting that Massimo kept in his office reveals to her the painful truth that her husband had a lover.” Luca Prono, http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/34/ignorantfairies.html
April 29
Saimir (2004) dir. Francesco Munzi
May 6
Quando sei nato non puoi più nasconderti (Once You are Born, You can no longer Hide) (2006) dir. Marco Tullio Giordana
May 13
Io, l’altro (I, the Other) (2007) dir. Mohsen Melliti
May 20
La sconosciuta (The Unknown Woman) (2007) dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
May 27
Il divo (2008) dir. Paolo Sorrentino
“An intensely political film so wildly inventive and witty that it will become a touchstone for years to come, "Il Divo" is a masterpiece for maverick helmer-scribe Paolo Sorrentino. Not merely chronicling the career of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti but also zooming in on the enigmatic politico's character, pic features an astonishing degree of craftsmanship and a towering performance by Toni Servillo.” - Variety
June 3
Gomorra (Gomorrah) (2008) dir. Matteo Garrone
