Italian Cinema Today

He gained renown during the commedia all’italiana years but his captivating performances kept him working through five decades until his untimely death in 1990. Born in 1922 in Cremona, Ugo Tognazzi’s first acting experiences go back to his childhood when he participated in local theater productions. In 1945, he won a competition for amateurs and was then officially hired by a theater company which led to a nationwide tour.  A few years later, he landed his first film roles and in the next decade, made a whopping 28 films. However, for all the films he made in the ‘50s, it was the ‘60s and ‘70s when his films were hits also outside Italy, giving him much-deserved international recognition for his lead roles.    Tognazzi had a uniquely self-effacing and multidimensional style. There’s no such thing as a typical Tognazzi character because they were all so completely different. Losing himself in each role, he gifted them with their own identities. Perhaps there’s a consistent dose of pess

Filmmakers Arthur Couvat and  Cecilia Pignocchi It’s unusual for a first-time filmmaker to be recognized by a high-profile, international film festival but such is the case with Cecilia Pignocchi and Arthur Couvat’s debut work, “Grottaroli.” The 14-minute film is in the official lineup of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival’s Shorts Program. Set along the Adriatic Coast, the film follows a group of veteran fishermen as they reflect on their way of life becoming obsolete. Told from the point-of-view of the four fishermen and as Pignocchi’s describes her fifth character, the sea, the film offers total immersion into this culture that few outside the area know exists.    I spoke with Pignocchi about the making of the short and her journey to premiering a first film on such a respected international platform.    What inspired you and Arthur Couvat to tell the story of men in this fishing village? Arthur and I were inspired by the strong relationship that these men have with the sea and we were

Marco Pontecorvo’s “Fatima” opened today in theaters across the US. Based on the true story of the 1917 Marian apparitions reported by three children at the Cova da Iria, in Fátima, Portugal, Pontecorvo’s film offers an adaption for new audiences with modern technology. “The cinemascope format can give back to the audience a much stronger emotion and can make people enjoy the stunning cinematography by Vincenzo Carpineta, as it was intended,” says Pontecorvo.   The director got involved with the project after producers saw his 2009 feature film,  "Pa-ra-da," that addresses the homeless children issue in post-Ceausescu Romania. The producers were impressed by his direction of the children and suggested he direct “Fatima.” He felt the story was perhaps too religious but had some very appealing narrative angles. “I proposed to them to veer the narrative towards a film that instead of being dogmatic, could have been opened and put the focus on the relevance of this story for the