Italian Cinema Today

Interviewing Salvo Cuccia in Rochester, New York 2014 Born in Palermo in 1960, Sicilian director, Salvo Cuccia has emerged as a documentary filmmaker who tells the stories of unique individuals making their mark on the world. Vincenzo Tusa, Vittorio De Seta and Frank Zappa are three men from different walks of life. They each have two things in common.. a passion for their cause and Salvo Cuccia who told their story. Cuccia’s films are visually stunning, honest portraits, which present fascinating stories of people driven by their unbreakable passion. They offer introspections of people and their relationships to the environment and culture. The films, so articulately shot with subjects wildly passionate in their beliefs, transport the viewer directly to the location in which they were made. The music, mostly produced by local musicians intensifies the experience. Among these documentaries is Oltre Selinunte , the story of Vincenzo Tusa, a leader in preserving...

Salvo Cuccia' s acclaimed documentary, “Summer 82 when Zappa came to Sicily" premiered at the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It is a remarkable story which recounts a Frank Zappa concert that was scheduled in Palermo during the tumultuous summer of 1982, but had to be cancelled due to unrest in the city. Some 30 years later, the director, with ticket in hand, revisits that night, accompanied by the late singer's wife, children and granddaughter as he takes them through the land of their origins and introduces them to relatives they never knew. The Zappa family goes on to receive honorary citizenship of Partinico, Sicily. Click here to stream on YouTube.