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Showing posts from October, 2017

Filmmakers Antonio Andrisani and Pascal Zullino to present "Il Vangelo secondo Mattei”

It seems these days that everyone is talking about Matera. A designated  UNESCO World Heritage Center , the "Sassi" (rock) neighborhoods of the southern Italian city have recently been featured in a number of high profile newspapers and travel publications including the  New York Times ,  Lonely Planet   and England's   The Guardian . Tourists from all over the world are lining the ancient streets curious to explore the history and stunning beauty of the unique landscape. Monte Vulture taken from a bus going through Spinazzola in Puglia It’s refreshing to see mainstream publications writing positive articles about Basilicata even though they are   focusing predominately on Matera's recent rebirth. In the past, foreign journalists quoted the decades-old writings of Carlo Levi, declaring the region remote and difficult to reach. These days, nothing could be farther from the truth. One direct bus from Rome is all you need to reach the natural paradise of Ba

Her Latest Film is Headed to Rochester, New York: A Conversation with Laura Morante

Born on August 21, 1956 in Tuscany, actress Laura Morante brings an effortless passion to her work and is known for delivering intense dramatic performances that make her characters unforgettable.    Morante started out as a dancer and attributes her success in acting to the self-discipline and love of rehearsal she found in dancing. She began her acting career in theater before making her screen debut in Giuseppe Bertolucci's 1981  Oggetti Smarrit  (Lost and Found). The film that brought her recognition outside Italy was Nanni Moretti’s 2001  La stanza del figlio  (The Son's Room). Morante's character deals with the devastating loss of a child, and her sensitivity to the feelings of her character was apparent as she went through so many of the painful stages of mourning a loved one.  Since she started out as a dancer, Morante found common ground with her character, Yolanda, in John Malkovich's  The Dancer Upstairs . Although she has also worked in French c

A Conversation with Living Legend Burt Young

One of America’s most beloved character actors, he is best known for his role as Paulie Pennino in the Rocky films, an unforgettable portrayal that spanned four decades of cinema. Actor Burt Young was born Gerald Tommaso DeLouise on April 30, 1940. The son of Pugliese immigrants originating from Bari, he grew up in the tough Italian-German neighborhood of Corona in Queens, New York. “I grew up with honesty and loyalty. They were very decent, family-oriented people,” Young shared at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival in Canada, where he presented his latest film, “The Neighborhood” alongside Danny Aiello and Giancarlo Gianni. Young gets emotional when talking about his parents..  Young originally had no intentions of becoming an actor. Prophetically, he started out as a boxer but then fate stepped in. “I met this girl and I wanted to be close to her. She wanted to study acting with Lee Strasberg. I didn’t know who Lee Strasberg was, but I figured that I could get