SCREENINGS
November 13-18, 2018 at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres
Co-presented with AFI FEST: Italy’s Official Oscar® Submission! DOGMAN, 2018, Magnolia Pictures, 102 min. Dir. Matteo Garrone.
This riveting underworld drama from Matteo Garrone (GOMORRAH) centers on Marcello (Cannes Best Actor winner Marcello Fonte), a humble dog groomer, a loving single father and, to make ends meet, a petty coke dealer. Among his customers is Simone (Edoardo Pesce), a thug who terrorizes his run-down Naples neighborhood – and wants Marcello’s help to commit a robbery. A fable of good and evil colored by dark humor and surreal touches, DOGMAN earned 8 Nastri d’Argento awards. “DOGMAN unfolds its relatively straightforward story with both thrilling style and serious moral force: it’s a sensation judged on either bark or bite.” – Robbie Collin, The Telegraph .In Italian with English subtitles.
Discussion following with actor Marcello Fonte.
Double Feature: THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME (A CASA TUTTI BENE), 2018, Indie Sales, 105 min. Dir. Gabriele Muccino. “This movie is about everything: life, our existences, about how difficult it is to live with anyone, from your partner to your children and finally your parents … how hard it is to be fair,” notes Gabriele Muccino of this appealing ensemble dramedy, which follows a string of U.S.-set English-language films (including THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS) by the director. The setting here is an island off the Italian coast, where an extended clan has reunited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of grandparents Pietro and Alba; when a storm traps them for two days, three generations struggle to sort out long-simmering family issues. In Italian with English subtitles.
THE STOLEN CARAVAGGIO (UNA STORIA SENZA NOME), 2018, Rai Com, 110 min. Dir. Roberto Andò.
As this immaculately crafted drama begins, top screenwriter Alessandro Gassmann, bereft of inspiration, turns to ghost writer Micaela Ramazzotti for his latest project; the script she provides him involves a priceless stolen artwork. But the tale turns out to be more true-to-life than the painting’s Sicilian mafia thieves would like, complicating things for both scribes. Adding to the multi-layered story, Jerzy Skolimowski costars as the director of the film within this film. In Italian and English with English subtitles.
Program begins with Cinema Italian Style’s short film contest: the short CHEF-D’OEUVRE FILM D’ART directed by Chris Armienti (University of Southern California USC School of Cinematic Arts), preceding THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME; the short DEPARTURE directed by Sungho Chun (New York Film Academy), preceding THE STOLEN CARAVAGGIO
Discussion between films with THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME actress Sabrina Impacciatore.
Double Feature: EUPHORIA (EUFORIA), 2018, True Colors, 115 min. Dir. Valeria Golino.
Familiar to American audiences as an actress, Valeria Golino (HONEY) adds to her directorial resume with this drama, which screened in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. High-flying entrepreneur Matteo (Riccardo Scamarcio) and schoolteacher Ettore (Valerio Mastandrea) are siblings whose very different lives converge after Ettore is diagnosed with a terminal illness; taking charge of his brother’s treatment, Matteo tries to hide the truth from all involved. Jasmine Trinca gives a poignant turn as the woman with whom Ettore has fallen in love. In Italian with English subtitles.
BOYS CRY (LA TERRA DELL’ABBASTANZA), 2018, The Match Factory, 96 min. Dirs. Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo.
Twin brothers Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo earned a Nastri d’argento award for Best Debut Director with this superbly crafted crime drama. Matteo Olivetti and Andrea Carpenzano star as Mirko and Manolo, best friends living on the margins of Rome who accidently run someone over. When they discover the man was an informer marked for death, the two use the incident to impress the local mafia … and wind up getting more than they bargained for. “What makes the film so fascinating to watch is that the psychology of the boys keeps bubbling to the surface organically, making it easy for audiences to understand the thought processes behind their (frequently not advisable) actions.” – Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter. In Italian with English subtitles.
Discussion between films with EUPHORIA director Valeria Golino, followed by Cinema Italian Style’s short film contest: the short LA FINTA FAMIGLIA directed by Roee Myzel (University of Southern California USC School of Cinematic Arts), preceding BOYS CRY.
LIKE A CAT ON A HIGHWAY (COME UN GATTO IN TANGENZIALE), 2017, True Colors, 98 min.
Dir. Riccardo Milani. The lifespan of a teen romance may be as short as that of a cat on a highway, but it’s long enough to spark this hilarious and affecting look at love across class boundaries. When a young man and woman get engaged in Rome, it fosters an unusual friendship between the daughter’ rich father (Antonio Albanese) and the son’s poor mother (Paola Cortellesi). This delightful crowd-pleaser won Nastri d’Argento awards for Best Comedy Film and for the lead performances of Albanese and Cortellesi. In Italian with English subtitles.
NAPLES IN VEILS (NAPOLI VELATA), 2017, True Colors, 113 min. Dir. Ferzan Ozpetek.
This enigmatic, intricately plotted thriller stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno as Adriana, a medical examiner whose falls for a guy (Alessandro Borghi) at a party only to discover his corpse at the mortuary days later. As the police begin to focus on her, Adriana spots the young man in the subway – is it a ghost, or something else? Adding to the atmosphere are Gian Filippo Corticelli’s lush cinematography (Nastro d’Argento award) and Pasquale Catalano’s evocative soundtrack – the film’s titular city rarely seemed more beautiful, or mysterious, on screen. In Italian with English subtitles.
NOME DI DONNA, 2018, Celluloid Dreams, 90 min. Dir. Marco Tullio Giordana.
Nina Martini (Cristiana Capotondi) leaves Milan for the little town of Brianza in search of a better life for herself and her daughter. She finds work at a prestigious retirement home but something is not right there – something her female colleagues have come to accept but that Nina will take a stand against. With its topic of sexual harassment on the job, NOME DI DONNA couldn’t be more timely, and director Marco Tullio Giordana earned a Special Nastro d’Argento award from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists for this compelling drama. In Italian with English subtitles.
Program begins with Cinema Italian Style’s short film award ceremony.
LORO, 2018, IFC Films, 150 min. Dir. Paolo Sorrentino.
Director Paolo Sorrentino reunites with his THE GREAT BEAUTY star Toni Servillo to peer behind the curtain of recent Italian politics. Billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi (Servillo) was first elected to lead the Italian government in 1994 and his lengthy, corruption-ridden tenure as resulted in a tax-fraud conviction, so there’s more than enough material for a juicy biopic but as the title – which translates as “them” – suggests, this film is less focused on the ex-prime minister than on his sycophantic retinue. Released in two parts in Italy, the film won four Nastri d’Argento awards including Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Elena Sofia Ricci). “Sorrentino’s mastery of the unexpected visual shock is deliciously in evidence from the moment the title appears.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety. In Italian with English subtitles.
Program begins with the shorts BISMILLAH (2018, 14 min., Dir. Alessandro Grande), Italy’s Official Oscar® Submission – Short Film, and MAGIC ALPS (2018, 15 min., Dir. Andrea Brusa and Marco Scotuzzi).