Italian Cinema Today

Fortunato Verduci made a name for himself in his native Calabria as a musician specializing in traditional folk songs. One day, he received a call to audition for an American production being shot on location in his region. Three years later, he is responsible for helping to create some of the most memorable scenes in television, which thanks to VOD platforms like Netflix and Amazon, represent Calabria on the international stage.  Born in the Calabrian commune of Motta San Giovanni, located on a mountain top overlooking the Ionian sea, Verduci was raised by a family of musicians. “I grew up to the sound of the tarantella and since I was a child. I’ve accompanied my father with the Motta folk group to play and dance around Italy and Europe. The dance facilitated me in acting because I was used to performing in front of the audience.” Verduci didn’t initially have plans to pursue an acting career. A few years ago, word got around that an international film crew was shootin...

When most Americans think of the m afia, images of stereotypical figures like those we often see on television and in the movies come to mind.  However, those images are far from the  everyday  reality  that  Italians, Sicilians in particular , have endured  for decades.  Unprecedented violence, which plagued the streets of Palermo during the ' 80s and '90s led to a groundbreaking anti-mafia movement .  From  national  activists like Rita  Borsellino,  who  lost her  brother,   Paolo  Borsellino ,  to  a  1992  car bombing to journalist  Roberto  Saviano , whose writings have exposed the organized crime ring,  Camorra,  Italians  are slowly but surely reclaiming their cities . Italy’s filmmakers are reflectin g  this anti-mafia movement in their work and sending a message to criminals and to those who stereotype Italians as having to do with the M...