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Showing posts from May, 2018

Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2018 Edition

Boys Cry Since the early 2000's, I've always looked forward to the month of June because of the remarkable selection of contemporary Italian films shown in New York at Lincoln Center's annual series, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema .  This year's diverse lineup, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, includes the Berlin Film Festival sleeper hit by the D’Innocenzo brothers, Boys Cry , the story of two best friends who get in over their heads with organized crime;  Innovative director Fulvio Risuleo's Look Up ; Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s second feature, Sicilian Ghost Story ; Sergio Castellitto’s emotionally-driven Fortunata , with Jasmine Trinca, who won the Un Certain Regard Best Actress prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival; and three works by returning Open Roads filmmakers: Marco Tullio Giordana’s Name of a Woman , Ferzan Ozpetek’s Naples in Veils , starring the talented Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Alessa

Asia Argento's 2000 Film 'Scarlet Diva' Gets American Distribution

It's just been announced that Asia Argento's 2000 film Scarlet Diva was acquired by the American distribution company, Film Movement. According to Luce Cinecitta's website, FilmItalia , the story of Scarlet Diva centers on Anna Battista, a young film star with a difficult past. Her mother and brother died from drug and alcohol abuse. Anna lives a nomadic life travelling between Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles in a continuous whirl of auditions, appearances and awards ceremonies. The truth of the matter is that Anna is lonely and on the edge of oblivion. Love is always only sex for her and all her relationships are drug-driven and very degrading. During a stopover in Paris, she meets Kirk (Shepherd) a young Australian musician and she falls in true love. Kirk goes on a long tour and Anna discovers that she is pregnant. She decides to keep the baby but cannot break with her world and all its vices. During a continuous flashback, Anna relives the death o

A Conversation with Neapolitan Actress Franca Abategiovanni

Franca Abategiovanni  "Naples, more than inspires me, is a part of me." Passionate words from a Neapolitan actress whose origins are at the very foundation of her work. Born in Ercolano, a comune located in Naples, Franca Abategiovanni began acting in theater when she was a young girl. Those beginnings led her to a successful career in film, and the freedom to return every so often to her first love-theater. She charmed and humored American audiences earlier this year as a strong-willed mother in Rupert Evertt's "The Happy Prince ."  A British biographical story of the tragic last days of Oscar Wilde, the film premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently in Italian theaters. I recently spoke with Franca Abategiovanni about her diverse roles and her love of her hometown of Naples. Our interview was done in Italian, so both versions are included. When did your discover this desire to be an actress? Theater has always been in