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Showing posts from May, 2014

Profile: Alba Caterina Rohrwacher

Photo by Fabio Lovino  Actress Alba Rohrwacher has been working more than ever lately and currently has two films receiving international praise; Le meraviglie which was directed by her sister, Alice, and won the Grand Prix at the 67th annual Cannes Film Festival; and Via Castellana Bandiera which is about to be shown in New York City at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film series at Lincoln Center. Born to an Italian mother and German father, Rohrwacher has taken Italian cinema by storm since her debut in 2004. With her trademark red locks and blue eyes, she does not have the typical Italian look of most screen sirens in her country, but that is exactly what sets her apart from the rest. Born in Tuscany, Rohrwacher relocated to Rome where she studied her craft at the Scuola Nazionale di Cinema. Shortly thereafter, she began working in theater and film. Her first big screen appearances were in smaller supporting roles in films such as Carlo Mazzacurati's 2004 L&#

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9"

A Conversation with Sergio Castellitto

Sergio Castellitto has made a profound impact on world cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Born in Rome in 1953, Castellitto graduated from film school in 1978 and credits American cinema with pushing him toward a career in acting. His work has garnered numerous accolades, mostly because of his immersive, original approach to projects in film, television and theatre. Castellitto is fluent in French and English, which have contributed mightily to his international stardom. But it's the actor's trademark brown eyes and charming everyman qualities that have lent his various characters -- even the ones that are rough around the edges-- an air of dignity other actors might not have achieved. Sergio Castellitto and Margaret Mazzantini, 2005 Castellitto made his film debut in 1981, and just two years later found himself working alongside Marcello Mastroianni and French actress Anouk Aimée in "Il generale dell'armata morte."    Films such as &quo

Interview: Donatella Finocchiaro

Whether she's playing the supporting role like her character in " Il dolce e l'amaro" or the lead in " Galantuomini," Donatella Finocchiaro has a commanding onscreen presence that makes her unforgettable.  Finocchiaro began her acting career in theatre but quickly moved to the big screen. Her first movie role was in the 2002 drama " Angela" in which she plays the namesake role, a wife who gets involved with her husband's dangerous and illegal business of selling drugs. Although many of Donatella's characters have some involvement with organized crime, a stereotype that has been tirelessly overplayed, she is able to portray the human side of it, the way that this life and its stereotypes destroy families and dreams. She is often cast in these parts because the intensity of her acting has such a huge impact on audiences and the effect of the movie. Her characters hurt, and that pain is expressed through her dark pe