Italian Cinema Today

Pre-production for Paolo Genovese's next film is officially underway, and the big news is that it will be shot in English in New York. Addressing an audience at the Giffoni Film Festival, Genovese said the new project, titled The First Day of My Life (Il primo giorno della mia vita), will be very different from his blockbuster, Perfetti sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers). He explained, "It will be the contrast, very positive." He went on to say, "It's probably a reaction to this moment when the whole world seems to be on fire. I want to make a film about the beauty of life." Paolo Genovese is known for his character-driven stories, mostly labeled comedies. Although, my feeling is that they are more along the lines of drama with strong comedy relief. In America, as he pointed out in an interview with the Italian newspaper, Il Messaggero, we call them dramedies. From his coming-of-age film, Immaturi to his southern Italian romantic comedy, Sei mai stata su...

In two short decades, Ambra Angiolini emerged as a star on two continents, dazzling audiences first as a teen host of Italian TV, and then as a chart-topping singer in Europe and South America before making her way onto the big screen as a captivating actress. Born in Rome on April 22, 1977,   Angiolini began her career in 1992 at the age of 15 as a host of RAI Television's "Non è la Rai."   Two years later, she recorded her first album, "T'appartengo," in both Italian and Spanish. The album was a huge hit in Spain as well as other countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Chile. As a result of that sucsess, Angiolini was invited to perform at the popular Chilean music festival, "Viña del Mar" in 1996. Meanwhile, she was recording her self-titled album, "Angiolini," which included the hits, "Tu sei," "Ti stravoglio," "Buoni Amici" and "Aspettavo te."   That same year, she made her acting ...