Italian Cinema Today

Matilde Gioli and Matteo Martari in a scene from 2Night When she answered a casting call, Matilde Gioli’s just wanted to make a few extra bucks to support her university education. Months later, she was offered a starring role in one of Italy’s most successful contemporary films. Born in Milan in 1989, Gioli studied at Beccaria High School and then graduated in Philosophy at the State University. “I never thought of becoming an actress. When I was at university, I worked various jobs. I was 21 years old. One day my mother found an announcement: they were looking for extras for a film by Paolo Virzì. So I went to audition. I did not expect anything," she explained in a recent interview with Forbes Magazine in Italy. She didn’t hear anything for four months. Then one day, she received word that Virzì wanted to meet her for a another audition. “The following day, he offered me the role of Serena Ossola in the film Human Capital . From there my career started.” Matilde G...

She’s just in her mid-20’s but actress Sara Serraiocco has quickly become one of Italy’s leading ladies. Born in the region of Abruzzo in 1990, Serraiocco got her start performing as a dancer. At the age of 20, she set her sights on acting, and moved to Rome to study her craft at the legendary Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. Just three years later, she made her feature film debut in Salvo , Fabio Grassadonia’s and Antonio Piazza’s dark tale of a hit man who falls for his rival’s blind sister. The film is complex with little dialogue, but strong, powerful silences. The role of Rita proved that Serraiocco was born to be a performer. Her subtle but powerful expressions and mannerisms heightened the suspense of the film when the scenes were carried solely and silently by the young actress. Salvo is a story of hope for the hopeless, a last shot at love, if only in the final breath of life. Salvo Mancuso, played by Saleh Bakri, is a hit man, a hired assassin. After killing his...

"Now is the time when Cuba can become an important co-production partner” said Rome Lazio Film Commission head Luciano Sovena, who recently launched Italy’s top co-production fund between the two countries. The first production of that partnership is Non è un paese per giovani (No Country for the Young). Directed by Giovanni Veronesi, the film features a great cast that includes  Filippo Scicchitano, Giovanni Anzaldo , Sara Serraiocco , Sergio Rubini and Nino Frassica. I was happy to find a very detailed description of the story in English: Every year, five hundred thousand young people leave Italy and flee overseas. They call it “brain drain” but among the new emigrants there are a lot of ordinary young people seeking their fortune. Sandro and Luciano are two of them. Sandro, 24, comes from Rome and is curious about his future but he doesn’t have a clear idea yet. He graduated a while ago and he may want to become a writer. He still lives with his...

Andrea Di lorio’s passion for cinema runs deep. Born in Campobasso in 1987, Di lorio studied performing arts and techniques at Rome’s La Sapienza University. By the time he graduated in 2013, he already had an acclaimed short film to his credit and a few years later made his first feature film. Di lorio’s childhood passion for cinema began with his realization that cinema combines several art forms, so he feels that filmmaking is a complete art. Over the course of a month or so, I’ve had an interesting dialogue getting to know this up and coming Italian filmmaker. His vision is unique and his desire to bring that vision to fruition is so strong, he takes matters into his own hands, and gets his films made.   I asked Andrea Di lorio about his passion for cinema and about two fascinating films he recently made, in particular, Senza Distanza , his first feature-length film starring fellow up and coming filmmaker Giovanni Anzaldo along with a cast of seriously gifted actors-...

In the mid 1970’s, Italian police seized an underground publishing company for distributing a book called, How to Flee Home and Live Happily . Before the police could halt production, 30,000 copies were sold, exposing a huge problem in Italian society. Teenagers wanted to run away from home. Various reasons were cited. Since the 70’s were a politically tumultuous time in Italy, many parents did not agree with the political beliefs of their children, so those kids wanted to escape the torment of daily quarrels. Others reportedly ran away for economic reasons. Some 40 years later, statistics show that 30% of young people under the age of 20 have run away from   home at least once in their lives, and many are also fleeing from foster homes. Fortunately, the episodes usually just last for a few days because the hard reality of starting over from nothing shatters their dreams of independence. Filmmaker Tommaso Agnese is bringing attention to this national problem w...