Italian Cinema Today

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play

When most Americans think of the m afia, images of stereotypical figures like those we often see on television and in the movies come to mind.  However, those images are far from the  everyday  reality  that  Italians, Sicilians in particular , have endured  for decades.  Unprecedented violence, which plagued the streets of Palermo during the ' 80s and '90s led to a groundbreaking anti-mafia movement .  From  national  activists like Rita  Borsellino,  who  lost her  brother,   Paolo  Borsellino ,  to  a  1992  car bombing to journalist  Roberto  Saviano , whose writings have exposed the organized crime ring,  Camorra,  Italians  are slowly but surely reclaiming their cities . Italy’s filmmakers are reflectin g  this anti-mafia movement in their work and sending a message to criminals and to those who stereotype Italians as having to do with the Mafia . As Italian Americans, we are all too familiar with those stereotypes.   A scene from I cento passi Popular fil