Strong Italian Presence in the 2018 Tribeca Lineup

"The Man Who Stole Bansky"

Some great contemporary Italian filmmakers are in this year's lineup of the Tribeca Film Festival including Laura Bispuri's "Daughter of Mine," Susanna Nicchiarelli's "Nico 1988" and Marco Proserpio's much anticipated "The Man Who Stole Banksy."

Marco Proserpio's documentary film begins with the Palestinian perspective on the internationally renowned street artist and soon turns into the discovery of an extensive secret market of works stolen from city streets around the world. The film explores the influence of cultures meeting and clashing in the face of unstable political situations and the ongoing debate of commercialization versus preservation in street art. The story is told through interviews with art dealers, restorers, copyright lawyers and street artists themselves. They all take a side, and this film gives unique access to all of them. Proserpio is not looking to express a specific opinion. The goal is simply to pose questions. If graffiti is by definition an ephemeral form of art, should it then be allowed to disappear as the artists intended?

Daughter of Mine

"Daughter of Mine" is the story of a 9-year-old girl torn between the loving mother who raised her and the biological mother who wants her back. Starring Alba Rohrwacher and Valeria Golino as the mothers, and newcomer Sara Casu, the film was shot in rural Sardinia, which has vast landscapes that contrast the film being set in the present.

In an interview with Variety, Gregorio Paonessa of Vivo Film called the plot a “very contemporary theme.” He said the film is "totally in line with Laura’s journey as a director” explaining, "her films have always been meditations on the female condition. In the first one it was gender identity, now she is taking further a step and tackling the theme of maternity.” Bispuri has said that American writer A.M. Homes’s memoir "The Mistress’s Daughter" was her inspiration behind the film.

"Nico 1988"

Set between Paris, Prague, Nuremberg, Manchester, the Polish country side and the Roman seaside, the biopic movie starts in 1987 with Nico, 48, strung out on heroin but going on tour in Europe as a soloist with a new manager and getting off drugs as the tour progresses. She is with her son Ari, who she claimed was conceived with Alain Delon, though Delon denied paternity. Nico died in 1988 while on vacation with Ari on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.

The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18 — 29. Click here for the complete lineup. For more information on the films and directors, visit FilmItalia.

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