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New Italian Cinema returns to San Francisco November 12?19 at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinemas for an eight-day series of Italian narrative features and shorts. Now in its tenth year in San Francisco, this window into today's Italy offers Opening and Closing Night films by established filmmakers, seven debut features paired with shorts, and a two-film retrospective from a legendary Italian filmmaker. On Closing Night, the City of Florence Awards are given to the debut feature and short receiving the highest rankings from audience members on both coasts.
OPENING NIGHT
Celebrate ten years of New Italian Cinema in San Francisco with the latest film from Marco Bellocchio, with the director in person. Buy a ticket to either the 6:15 or 9:00 pm screening, and then join us for a reception with complimentary Peroni beer, wine and appetizers at 8:00 pm (either before or after your screening) at Gallery One in the Embarcadero Center.
The Wedding Director
(Il regista di matrimoni) dir. Marco Bellocchio
Franco Elica (the remarkable actor/director Sergio Castellitto) is a dispirited filmmaker, working on a dull retread of a beloved Italian novel. Taking a break from casting and possibly on the run from local police, Elica is hired to film a wedding by a nutty Sicilian prince. When he falls in love with the bride, further calamities and oddities arise. Some of Bellocchio's usual targets (Catholicism, the bourgeoisie) are speared again here, but newly evident is a jocular surrealism that keeps the viewer constantly (and delightfully) guessing. (105 min, 2006)
MARCO BELLOCCHIO TRIBUTE
A terrific opportunity to see the work of one of the preeminent figures in contemporary Italian cinema with the director in attendance.
Good Morning, Night
(Buongiorno, notte) dir. Marco Bellocchio
A masterful reimagining of the kidnapping and murder of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the radical Red Brigades in 1978. The Best of Youth's luminous Maya Sansa is unforgettable as the only female kidnapper, and the remarkably elastic Luigi Lo Cascio is equally memorable as a more ideological member of the group. Bellocchio's examination of radical leftist politics and their ambiguous legacy is refreshingly complex and enormously involving. (106 min, 2003)
Fists in the Pocket
(I pugni in tasca) dir. Marco Bellocchio
In Italy, Bellocchio's debut film caused a ruckus when it was released - 41 politicians called for its ban - and proved equally memorable in San Francisco at the Tenth San Francisco International Film Festival. Over 40 years later, its attack on bourgeois, old-world values as represented by a dysfunctional, once-wealthy provincial family still manages to shock. First-time actor Lou Castel is riveting as the unstable middle son Alessandro who caroms off his various relations in increasingly disturbing situations. (105 min, 1965)
FILMS IN COMPETITION
Seven new features and seven new shorts by emerging directors vying for the audience-awarded City of Florence prize. Results will be announced at Closing Night.
. . . And if Tomorrow
(E se domani . . .) dir. Giovanni La Parola
The popular comedic duo of Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu headlines this amusing tale, based on a true story, of an indebted Sicilian businessman named Mimi who decides to rob a bank. Luckily, his lifelong friend, a wealthy lawyer named Matteo, is on hand to reveal the reasons behind this desperate act and perhaps save his pal from prison. Along the way, first-time director La Parola offers a trenchant combination of hilarious comedy and pointed social commentary. (90 min, 2006) Preceded by A Wire Around the World (Un filo intorno al mondo), dir. Sophie Chiarello (15 min, 2006)
Beneath the Same Moon
(Sotto la stessa luna) dir. Carlo Luglio
In a number of Italian cities recently, the Rom people have found their encampments threatened by local officials, townspeople and mafia thugs. Set on the outskirts of Naples, this film conveys the experiences and difficulties of one such community with a documentary-like eye. Wisely eschewing any kind of romantic gloss, Luglio uses untrained actors to lend veracity to the various characters and offers a layered portrait of cultural conflict. Fans of Romany music will appreciate the wonderful soundtrack as well. (92 min, 2006) Preceded by Thanks to the Sky (Grazie al cielo), dir. Andrea Jublin (10 min, 2005)
Fire at My Heart
(Fuoco su di me) dir. Lamberto Lambertini
A picturesque picaresque, Lambertini's second feature covers eight tumultuous years (1808?15) of Neapolitan rule by Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat. Though framed by Murat's attempts to win over the Italian populace, the story focuses on the elderly Italian statesman Nicola (Omar Sharif) and his impassioned grandson Eugenio. Through political upheavals and tragic love affairs, the characters, real and fictional, attempt to stay true to themselves. Sumptuous production design brings this rarely illuminated period of Italian history to life. (100 min, 2005) Preceded by News, dir. Ursula Ferrara (4 min, 2006).
Salvatore - This Is Life
(Salvatore - Questa ? la vita) dir. Gian Paolo Cugno
An elementary school teacher named Marco (Enrico Lo Verso) leaves Rome for a job in a small Sicilian village. There, he befriends the titular young boy, an orphan who supports his grandmother and younger sister through manual labor. As Marco's role in Salvatore's life increases, including one-on-one educational study sessions, the child's home life is upended and his security put at risk. Newcomer Alessandro Mallia is remarkable as Salvatore and superstar Giancarlo Giannini appears in a supporting role. (90 min, 2006) Preceded by In the Dark (Al buio), dir. Fabio Mollo (11 min, 2005)
Sorry You Can't Get Through
(Nessun messaggio in segreteria) dirs. Paolo Genovese, Luca Miniero
A bored retiree decides to be the guardian angel of a suicidally shy debt collector named Piero in this delightful romantic comedy. At first a nuisance, Walter eventually proves himself a good friend as he advises the younger man on matters of the heart. Matters go amusingly (and surreally) askew, however, when Piero creates a suave alter ego to help him court the lovely 'environmental technician' Francesca. (98 min, 2005) Preceded by Good Morning (Buongiorno), dir. Melo Prino (5 min, 2005)
What the Hell Am I Doing Here!
(Che ci faccio io qui!) dir. Francesco Amato
When Alessio discovers that he's failed his senior year and can't go on a Eurail trip with his pals, he defies his parents and hits the road on his motorbike. Though various mishaps keep him from meeting his friends, he does find new connections with a motley family running a seaside caf? near Rome. This warmhearted, winning crowd-pleaser recalls those carefree adolescent summers when love and escaping responsibilities are all that matter. (90 min, 2006) Preceded by Point of View (Punto di vista), dir. Michele Banzato (6 min, 2005)
The Wind Blows Round
(Il vento fa il suo giro) dir. Giorgio Diritti
Set in a remote part of northern Italy, this gorgeously filmed drama depicts the problems that arise when a French family decides to relocate to the tiny Italian village of Chersogno to raise goats. Though the new residents are initially welcomed, local xenophobia and resistance to change subsequently lead to serious conflict. In addition to the stunning location, the film offers the rare opportunity to hear the Occitan dialect, a combination of French and Italian spoken by only a few thousand people. (110 min, 2005) Preceded by The Shoes (La Scarpa), dir. Andrea Rovetta (5 min, 2005)
CLOSING NIGHT
We bring New Italian Cinema to a close with two screenings of this tale of love and war in Sicily during World War II. Buy a ticket to either the 5:30 or 9:30 pm screening, and then join us for a reception celebrating the City of Florence Awards with complimentary Peroni beer, wine and appetizers at 8:00 pm (either before or after your screening) at Gallery One in the Embarcadero Center. The Awards will be presented directly following the first screening.
Three Days of Anarchy
(Tre giorni d'anarchia) dir. Vito Zagarrio
A student named Giuseppe (Enrico Lo Verso, also in Salvatore) returns to his Sicilian village at the beginning of the chaotic 72-hour period in 1943 between Mussolini's fall and the American army's arrival. As the villagers' various political differences and utopian ideals burst to the surface, Giuseppe's own ambivalence is challenged as he learns his family legacy from his ailing father and reacquaints himself with two romantic interests, an impassioned teacher and the tempestuous daughter of a wealthy landowner. (96 min, 2004)
Three Days of Anarchy; Closing Night Ceremony 5:30 pm
City of Florence Awards Reception 8:00 pm
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