Skip to main content

New Italian Cinema in New York City



Lincoln Center in New York City was all a-buzz with Italian cinema this summer as its creators and aficionados gathered together to celebrate the newest contemporary films to come out of Italy. 

Opening weekend of the 12th edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema offered a diverse selection of films made by both newcomers and masters. Many of those filmmakers were in attendance and gave insight into the passion and drive behind their work. Among those in attendance was Ferzan Ozpetek, who has been a constant during the last 12 years and has traveled to New York three times to present his work at the festival.  Every time, I look forward to talking with him and participating in his Question & Answer sessions with the audience. I am always intrigued by his humility, unique vision and depth of creativity. He is a true artist in every sense of the word.

Many of the films featured in this year's program have an air of independence and stand autonomous in their messages. The filmmakers are less known in America and many of their stories are very specific to the present popular culture and political climate of Italy. So it is no surprise that Ozpetek's work stood out on opening night as his message was a bit more universal and his film was more character driven while it seemed the others were more story driven and pertained to specific events or people in Italy. With that said, the screenings were just as packed as ever and audiences stuck around to participate in the Q & A sessions with the filmmakers. The films reflected the ongoing trend of directors taking their cameras to the streets and shooting Italian life being lived beyond the borders of a home or soundstage.  Scenes took place amid the commotion of the city. Scenes took place on scooters with characters always in transit, always with somewhere to go and something to do.

A scene from "Magnifica Presenza"
Director, Daniele Vicari attended the festival to present his film, "Diaz: Don't Clean Up This Blood." The story is based on actual events that happened in Genoa during the 2001 G8 Summit. The story focuses on the controversial police raid of a temporary shelter for international protesters. Everything had reportedly been calm and quiet at the shelter that night in 2001, so there was no apparent reason for the violent raid to take place. It was a deeply troubling event that has been described as the greatest human rights tragedy since World War II, and more than a decade later, it continues to be a hot topic in Italian politics.

A scene from "Diaz: Don't Clean Up This Blood"
In a continued sign of the times, the theme of immigration was alive and well at this year's Open Roads festival with three films each telling different stories and points of view on immigration in Italy. Guido Lombardi's "Là-bas: A Criminal Education" is a sometimes dark journey into the world of African immigrants living in Naples, and they way in which they struggle to make ends meet whether legal or illegal.

At the other end of the spectrum is Andrea Segre's "Shun Li and the Poet," a more peaceful story of a Chinese immigrant and an older Slavic fisherman who strike up a friendship. The film illustrates the parallels in the diverse paths of two immigrants who are each making a new life for themselves in the Veneto region of contemporary Italy.

The international hit by Emanuele Crialese, "Terraferma" focuses on the wave of illegal immigration off the coast of Sicily. So here we have three filmmakers telling uniquely different stories of immigration in three different parts of Italy; the northern region of Veneto, the southern region of Campania and the coast of Sicily.  Each filmmaker offers a completely different viewpoint of the same issue.  

Now let's return to Ozpetek's latest masterpiece, "Magnifica Presenza" (Magnificent Presence). It seems that with every new film, he reinvents himself. Each plot is so different from the last. However there are always signature Ozpetek ingredients such as his culinary fascination. His perfectly quaffed characters are always preparing and enjoying beautifully colorful and decadent creations. This practice was of course embraced in "Magnifica Presenza" with the characters' elegance matching that of the culinary creations and sparkling candles placed upon the impeccably set dinner table. The musical scores of his films are often at the forefront, intensifying the scenes and inviting the audience to escape into his world of decadence and fantasy. That was certainly the case with the plot of this story, which takes us back in time as we watch the mystery behind the death of a 1940s acting troupe unfold. 

A scene from "Magnifica Presenza"
Regarding international distribution of these films, this article has been updated with links to the films available for streaming. Click on the title.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luminous Legacies: Yoichi Ohira’s Murano Glass at Magazzino Italian Art

A new exhibition in Cold Spring, New York, is bringing the luminous legacy of Murano glassmaking into focus through the work of Japanese artist Yoichi Ohira. “Yoichi Ohira: Japan in Murano” is on view at  Magazzino Italian Art  until February 2027. The exhibit showcases the work of Ohira, who became a leading figure in the design of Venetian glassworks on the island of Murano. The exhibition features works that highlight the uniqueness of Ohira’s art across the decades of his career. Ohira’s earliest Murano works blend Venetian glass techniques with his own style. These pieces show balanced shapes, clear surfaces, and striking color combinations. His Venezia e l’Oriente (Venice and the Orient) decanters reflect Venice’s ties to the East, creating vases inspired by Marco Polo’s tales with a modern twist. The exhibition shows Ohira’s respect for Murano’s glass masters, displaying objects alongside preparatory drawings that map ideas to the final works of art. It also explores ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′  - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...
Post a Comment
Read more

7 Days - 7 Women: Gina Lollobrigida

Update, January 16,2023: Gina Lollobrigida has passed away at the age of 95.  On Day 3 of our week-long series, 7 Days - 7 Women, in which we are showcasing seven strong, talented women working as filmmakers, writers or visual artists, we celebrate the forceful, creative energy of movie legend Gina Lollobrigida. She has been called the most beautiful woman in the world and at 87 years old, she is still a sight to behold. Her outer beauty mirrors the talent and inner beauty of this true, complete artist. Lollobrigida, the iconic actress, photojournalist and sculptress, was born Luigina Lollobrigida on July 4, 1932 in Subiaco, Italy, a town located outside of Rome in the province of Lazio.  Adored by fans all over the world, Lollobrigida has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Humphrey Bogart, Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Anthony Quinn and Shelly Winters. She acted opposite Bob Hope in his 1968 comedy, "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell," and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Extraordinary Career and Legacy of Dino De Laurentiis

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, having produced or co-produced more than 600 films during a career that spanned seven decades. His legacy continues not only through the work of his children and grandchildren but also through a new generation of filmmakers in his Italian hometown. De Laurentiis was born in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius on Aug. 8, 1919, in the city of Torre Annunziata, located just minutes from the ruins of Pompeii. As a child, he worked at a local pasta factory owned and operated by his father. That experience had a profound effect on him, shaping a lifelong passion for food and an appreciation for business. At the age of 17, he decided to leave home for the big city. He arrived in Rome and enrolled in the prestigious film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After attending the school for about a year, he managed to produce one film in 1940, The Last Combat , before having to leave Rome temporarily for m...
Post a Comment
Read more