Italian Cinema Today

The Academy Award-winning director has just published a book of portraits of 23 people he finds intriguing. Among those people is a lounge singer, a mafia boss and a scientist. The book is available through the Italian publisher Mondadori. 

From the opening night film to various presentations, this year's Roma Fiction Fest is shaping up to be a must-attend event. In Arte Nino  starring Elio Germano will open the festival on Wednesday. The film chronicles the life of Italy's beloved iconic actor Nino Manfredi. Directed by his son, Luca Manfredi, the entire cast, which includes one of my favorite contemporary Italian actresses, Anna Ferruzzo , will walk the Red Carpet and attend the Wednesday premiere. Among the fabulous events are a Friday discussion with the crew of The Young Pope with various garments and costumes on display. Saturday, actor extraordinaire  Marco Giallini will discuss his hit RAI television series, Rocco Schiavone . The festival runs December 7 - 11, with the screenings will held in the various theaters at The Space Cinema Moderno di Roma, which is located at Piazza della Repubblica. If you are in Rome and a cinema aficionado like me, I highly recommend checking out a few of ...

In nome del popolo Italiano (In the Name of the Italian People) It's great to see the beautiful classic cinema of yesterday still relevant and being shown to new audiences across the globe. Last month, I saw Fabrizio Corallo's captivating documentary film, Dino Risi Forever  at the Rome Film Festival. Now, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is set to host a three-week retrospective of the Italian maestro's work. The retrospective is the product of a collaboration with Luce Cinecittà, Rome, and will open with the new 4K restoration of his beloved 1961 hit Il sorpasso ( The Easy Life ) . According to MOMA's website, the retrospective will feature newly restored 35mm prints of 14 other Dino Risi films, including  Belle ma povere  (1957),  The Widower  (1959), and  Scent of a Woman  (1974). Additionally, the retrospective will premiere recently rediscovered documentaries that he made in the wake of World War II. The films are Neorealist portr...

Video artist and animator Donato Sansone has made the short list for Oscar contention with his latest work, " Journal Anime ." He has joined the ranks of an emerging generation in Italy's southern region of Basilicata that has received international acknowledgement for their work as filmmakers.  Sansone is from a small town called Bella. By coincidence, I recently spent a week in his charming hometown, and I can say that it's what many of us Italian-Americans imagine when we dream of the land of our origins.. quaint and lovely with warm, kind people, delicious culinary products and gifted chefs who know well how to utilize them. I spent an unforgettable week there attending the town's exceptional film festival, which showcased compelling topics and filmmakers from all over Italy. So, it's no surprise the town has produced a talented filmmaker of its own. I asked Sansone about his work and his origins in this beautiful, justly named town of Bella. Our inte...

With director Michele Vanucci and lead actor Mirko Frezza It's always great to be in Rome for Opening Day of a film. The director and casts usually make their way through a few theaters to present it or to say a few words afterwards. Such was the case for Michele Vanucci's  Il più grande grande sogno,  a film I originally saw back in September via the Sala Web program of the Venice Film Festival. This year, a great selection of films were made available on this internet platform for those of us who couldn't make it there in person. I was thrilled to meet the cast and director in Rome last night, and tell them how much I adored this film. Below is my original review. Not much has changed for me the second time around, except that I realized much of the humor was lost in translation. Since I saw the film in the theater closest to the neighborhood in which it was filmed, there were family and friends of the cast members, in particular Mirko Frezza. They were laughing in p...

During my adventures in finding interesting subjects for my "Basilicata: Terra di Cinema" series, I'm often amazed at the reach of filmmakers from Lucania. They travel the world to make and present their films, follow their dreams and experience different cultures. They learn the language and assimilate quickly, embracing the differences in lifestyle, work and even cuisine. Film Distributor Alessandro Masi is no different. Born and raised in Potenza, he is blazing his way through America following his passions of cinema, marketing, and business. Well-schooled in the entertainment industry, Masi has also worked as a producer. So he is familiar with being on both sides of the coin. Curious about this Lucano in America, I asked him a few questions about his American adventure and his thoughts on the highly acclaimed Italian Oscar entry, Gianfranco Rosi's documentary "Fire at Sea". When did you move to the United States? This is my third lon...

On this #FlashbackFriday, I'm taking a look back at one of my favorite films in this year's edition of the Festa del Cinema di Roma- Fabrizio Corallo's documentary,  Dino Risi Forever. With director Fabrizio Corallo To mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the master of Italian-style comedy, the festival paid tribute to Risi by premiering  Corallo's beautiful film, which featured intimate interviews showing the director's sense of humor and insight, which inadvertently made him an icon. In the telling interview, Risi spoke of his memories working with the likes of Sophia Loren, Ettore Scola and Dino De Laurentiis. He spoke of his passion for writing screenplays, "Writing was something that I really enjoyed." And Scola spoke of his collaboration with Risi. "I started working with  Dino and I did about ten films with him in all." Risi also spoke in depth about his friendship and collaboration with Vittorio Gassman. The two w...