Italian Cinema Today

  Ettore Scola on the set of 'How Strange to Be Named Federico' A sentimental portrait for a friend, Ettore Scola’s 2013 “Che strano chiamarsi Federico” (“How Strange to Be Named Federico”) is both a tribute to Federico Fellini and a reflection on friendship, and an artist’s passion for filmmaking.  Scola created a personal and imaginative film that moves between documentary, fiction, memory, and fantasy, bringing to life important moments he shared with Fellini during their decades-long friendship as well as highlights from Fellini’s own life and career while showing how deeply Fellini influenced Scola himself. The result is an inviting, nostalgic, and at times playful portrait of one of Italy and the world’s most beloved filmmakers. The film opens on the beach where a figure depicting Fellini sits in a director’s chair and watches performers audition for him. The beach is likely symbolic of Fellini’s roots in the seaside town of Rimini and his beach-going days on the c...

Photo Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories The 25th anniversary edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is upon us, and it’s hard to believe that a quarter of a century has gone by since the first edition in 2001. This year’s lineup features 15 films that exemplify the richness and diversity of contemporary Italian cinema, from young filmmakers to veterans, from comedies to dramas to documentaries.  “It’s always a pleasure to bring the most exciting new films in Italian cinema to our audience here in New York, and this year’s edition of Open Roads should prove especially stimulating, spotlighting some of Italy’s greatest up-and-coming talent, but also paying tribute to Roberto Rossellini , an absolutely pivotal, paradigm-shifting figure in the history of world cinema,” said Film at Lincoln Center Programmer Dan Sullivan. “Taken as a whole, this lineup offers some interesting propositions about the present and future of Italian cinema, while also deeply engaging with its incompar...

Photo by Georges Biard The daughter of two cinema icons, she’s led an extraordinary life as a model, actress, voice-over artist, writer, director, and now an organic farmer. Isabella Rossellini was born in 1952 to Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini . She has a twin sister named after her mother and an older brother, Robertino Ingmar, whom she often joins in retrospectives celebrating their legendary parents.  When she talks about her childhood, she does so with a wistful nostalgia. She fondly recalls time spent with them while acknowledging their long absences when their demanding careers required them to travel, leaving her and her siblings at home.  In the 1996 documentary “The Hollywood Collection: Ingrid Bergman Remembered,” Rossellini describes herself as a ball of energy. Her parents often had to tell her to quiet down because they were reading or working on a film project. When they’d leave, she enjoyed having the run of the hou...

Join me in beginning the Lenten season with my favorite adaptation of one of the Gospels-  Pier Paolo Pasolini's  1964 “Il Vangolo Secondo Matteo" (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) and a few classics that I recently discovered.  Considered by the Vatican to be among the best film adaptations of the Gospels, Pasolini's film was shot in the regions of Basilicata and Calabria. He cast his mother as Mary and many locals as extras. Spanish actor Enrique Irazoqui was cast in the role of Jesus. He was just 18-years-old when he landed the part. He had been in Rome at the time of casting and auditioned for the role. I contacted Irazoqui around this time last year to ask him about his experience making the film. He suggested that we have a conversation via Skype. Although the connection wasn’t very good, it was thrilling to talk directly with this actor whose film I had been watching for at least 20 years. He was very friendly and nostalgic in his recollections espe...

She rose to fame in the post-war films of the 1950s with her simple yet stunning beauty, quick wit and tough as nails persona. She held her own alongside Italian cinema legends like Vittorio De Sica and Alberto Sordi. Now in her 80s, she talks about the past with sweet nostalgia. Born in Rome on January 2, 1935, Giovanna Ralli wasted no time getting into show business. She made her feature film debut at the age of seven in Vittorio De Sica’s 1942 “I bambini ci guardano” (The Children Are Watching Us). Six years later, she began her theater career, becoming an actress in Peppino De Filippo’s stage company. But it was the big screen where she found her home. A small role in Federico Fellini and Alberto Lattuada's 1950 “Luci del varietà” (Variety Lights), set her film career into motion.    Among her early roles is Marcella in Gianni Franciolini’s 1955 “Racconti Romani” (Roman Tales). In the spirit of the post-war economic boom, the film follows four young men as they carry out...

A retrospective program featuring classic films from festivals past will feature two Italian films: Roberto Rossellini's  neorealist masterpiece "Germania anno zero" (Germany, Year Zero), which was in the 1948 edition of the festival and Pier Paolo Pasolini's  documentary "Comizi d’amore" (Love Meetings), which was in the 1964 edition. The films will be available online free of charge throughout Switzerland on the Festival's website and in various international territories thanks to the online streaming platform MUBI . Click here for the complete lineup. Click here for a direct link to stream to the online films. If you miss the MUBI streams, don't worry. Both films are readily available on streaming platforms in America.  Click here to watch Rossellini's "Germany, Year Zero" on the Criterion Channel along with five videos that offer commentary on the making of the film. Click on the link below to watch Pasolini's ...

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

© Federico Garolla While looking for more information on the photos I saw in November at Biblioteca Nazionale di Rome’s Sala Pasolini , I came across a fascinating website (in English!) that provides every single location in Rome frequented by Pier Paolo Pasolini. First, take this little walk with me through the Sala Pasolini.. “Pasolini Roma” provides a virtual tour of sites relevant to Pier Paolo Pasolini ’s filmmaking and writing. The tour takes you through 50 addresses and dates accompanied by a map and photos of Pasolini’s life in Rome. The tour spans 25 years, beginning with his first day in Rome in 1950 to his last day, which took place on the day of his funeral in 1975. In between, you will visit his first job, homes and film locations.  Featured are: black and white set photos taken during the filming of Accattone in Rome’s Pigneto neighborhood with a young Bernardo Bertolucci as his assistant and the story of how a famous scene from Rob...