Open Roads: New Italian Cinema marks 25 years at Lincoln Center

Photo Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

The 25th anniversary edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is upon us, and it’s hard to believe that a quarter of a century has gone by since the first edition in 2001. This year’s lineup features 15 films that exemplify the richness and diversity of contemporary Italian cinema, from young filmmakers to veterans, from comedies to dramas to documentaries.

“It’s always a pleasure to bring the most exciting new films in Italian cinema to our audience here in New York, and this year’s edition of Open Roads should prove especially stimulating, spotlighting some of Italy’s greatest up-and-coming talent, but also paying tribute to Roberto Rossellini, an absolutely pivotal, paradigm-shifting figure in the history of world cinema,” said Film at Lincoln Center Programmer Dan Sullivan. “Taken as a whole, this lineup offers some interesting propositions about the present and future of Italian cinema, while also deeply engaging with its incomparable past.”

On this milestone anniversary, I can’t help but reminisce about the first edition, which came at a time when I had just spent six months in Rome and was very homesick for the beautiful city and culture I had left behind. I was living on the Upper West Side of New York at the time and discovered the series while walking by Lincoln Center and noticing a poster promoting it. I saw just about every film in the lineup and attended most of the Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. That year, “LaCapaGira” by Alessandro Piva was one of the most talked about films of the series. It seemed a contemporary version of neorealism with so much on-location shooting and actors who seemed to engage in a lot of ad-libbing. Until Open Roads, most Americans just saw the big productions coming out of Italy, such as Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful,” Nanni Moretti’s “Dear Diary,” Michael Radford’s “Il Postino,” Gabriele Salvatores’ “Mediterraneo,” and of course, Giuseppe Tornatore’s beloved “Cinema Paradiso.” So, films like those we saw in the first edition of Open Roads and in the years that followed were truly groundbreaking, and perhaps part of the reason for the surge in Italian-themed film festivals and streaming platforms featuring contemporary Italian cinema across the United States since then.

In the last few years, the festival has focused on new filmmakers, with fewer veteran filmmakers attending. In 2010 through 2014, for example, filmmakers like Carlo Verdone, Salvatores, Rocco Papaleo, and Laura Morante traveled to New York with the Italian delegation. These days, we are seeing younger directors attending the series and the Q&A sessions to discuss their films. In the last few years, there have been one or two veteran filmmakers in attendance. So, while the presence of the likes of Verdone and Morante is missed, the series has maintained its standing as a high-profile platform for young directors to discuss the issues their generation faces in contemporary Italy and how those issues are reflected in their films.

The 25th edition continues that theme with filmmakers like director Carolina Cavalli and actress Benedetta Porcaroli, who will present “The Kidnapping of Arabella” (“Il rapimento di Arabella”). The film is Cavalli’s sophomore effort, whereas Porcaroli is a young actress who has been working in Italian cinema for a decade, appearing in many films that have made their way to the U.S. through streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon. Andrea De Sica will return to Open Roads to present his third feature film, “The Eyes of Others” (“Gli occhi degli altri”). In addition to his features, he has directed episodes for numerous television series, including Netflix’s popular series, “Baby,” starring Porcaroli, which ran from 2018 to 2020.

The special tribute to Rossellini will mark the director’s 120th birthday. A screening of his devastating “Paísa,” the second installment of his war trilogy, will be shown on June 1, following the new documentary, “Roberto Rossellini, Living Without a Script” by Ilaria de Laurentiis, Raffaele Brunetti, and Andrea Paolo Massara. Rossellini’s daughter, Ingrid, will introduce both films. Open Roads: New Italian Cinema runs May 28 to June 4. Click here for the full lineup.

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