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Showing posts from November, 2018

Meet Italy's Newest Stars- Elisa Del Genio & Ludovica Nasti

Directed by Saverio Costanzo and adapted from Elena Ferrante's novel My Brilliant Friend , HBO’s new television series is enchanting, mystical, suspenseful and full of drama. A young veteran of contemporary Italian cinema, Costanzo brings to the table his modern style of filmmaking with nostalgic echoes of Italy's Golden Age of cinema. Set in 1950s working-class Naples, the films of Vittorio De Sica instantly come to mind.  Then add the subtle yet powerful performances by its two young stars, Elisa Del Genio and Ludovica Nasti, non-professional actresses, and Costanzo endearingly, perhaps even subconsciously, pays homage to the neorealist genre that De Sica was key in creating. The development of a close friendship between Elena (Elisa Del Genio) and Lila (Ludovica Nasti) is the basis of the first episode, which introduces us to the harsh reality and flawed characters that surround them. The two girls are top in their class and while their teachers encourage thei

Sara Lo Russo's High-Tech Take on Basilicata

After honing her skills in Rome, she returned to her native region to conjure 3D worlds that bring history to life. Sara Lo Russo was raised in Potenza, the capital of Basilicata, where she attended college and majored in journalism. Upon graduating, she moved to Rome where she held a position as a news coordinator. Living outside the region allowed her to grow personally and professionally, but she longed to return home and cast a contemporary light upon her region. So she headed back to Potenza and partnered with engineer and 3D technician Michele Scioscia. With the help of the Lucana Film Commission, they founded Effenove, a film production and visual effects company. “We specialize in 3D computer graphics,” says Lo Russo. “For us, technology is a tool, not the end, and 3D allows us to add a different language to the way we talk about Basilicata and its stories.” Effenove literally means F9. As Lo Russo explains, “When Michele and I were trying to come up with a

Gigi Roccati's 'Lucania'

The trailer for Gigi Roccati's new film "Lucania" was recently released. Described as "An ancient land brought back to life by the primal force of a young mute girl," the film stars Joe Capalbo and Angela Fontana with Marco Leonardi and local actors Cosimo Fusco and Enzo Saponara. The film was shot on location in Basilicata. Judging from the cinematography and performances, "Lucania" looks like an intense film. We'll keep you posted on its release.  Click here to watch the trailer.

Interview: Giancarlo Iannotta Talks Molise and his First Feature Film

Chicago-born filmmaker Giancarlo Iannotta’s  My Country is a labor of love and symbol of pride for his Italian origins and has made the lineup of Canada's 2019 Italian Contemporary Film Festival.  A story of two brothers who meet as adults, the duo embarks on a road-trip from Rome to the southern region of Molise where they are forced to get to know each other and family members they never knew existed. The film is a lighthearted adventure with dramatic undertones, which deal with issues of abandonment and the lifetime repercussions it could bring when left unaddressed.  Iannotta  stars in the lead road opposite Antonio Palumbo with Rossella Celati, Demi Zaino and Mario D'Agostino, but one could argue another protagonist is the region of Molise. With breathtaking shots of the landscape and charming details of its towns, Ianotta, in the role of director, presents us with a lesser known but stunningly beautiful region that we don’t often see on travel shows and magazin

Ugo Tognazzi: Tragedies of a Ridiculous Man

Ugo Tognazzi: Tragedies of a Ridiculous Man December 5–30, 2018 The Museum of Modern Art The great Italian actor, director, and screenwriter Ugo Tognazzi (1922–1990) was among the inimitable quintet of actors from Italian cinema’s golden age—Tognazzi, Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, and Nino Manfredi—who invented and popularized commedia dell’Italia, that tragicomic admixture of folly and melancholy, and commanded the lion’s share of Italy’s box-office receipts in the 1960s and ’70s. Tognazzi’s career began opposite Raimondo Vianello in satirical sketch comedies of fledgling 1950s Italian television—his gifts of impersonation and improvisation are hilariously on display in films like Dino Risi’s I mostri (1963) and Luigi Zampa’s A Question of Honor (1965)—and deepened as his roles in later years became more acidic and introspective. If a typical Tognazzi character was virile and dissolute, sweet-talking his way into beds, executive offices, and c