New Italian Cinema has become the leading North American showcase for contemporary Italian cinema. Established filmmakers such as Ermanno Olmi (featured again this year), Mario Monicelli and Pupi Avati have premiered new works here alongside those of emerging filmmakers such as Matteo Garrone, Ferzan Ozpetek (also featured in this year’s program), Paolo Sorrentino and Susanna Nichiarelli. A new generation of actors, Margherita Buy, Sergio Castellitto, Toni Servillo, Donatella Finocchiaro, were discovered and embraced at Open Roads.
The Italian cinema is perhaps the quintessential social cinema, with films regularly taking on even the most divisive issues; many of the films included this year, even comedies such as A Flat for Three and Escort in Love, offer their own perspectives on contemporary Italy. Another development is the return of genre cinema, whether in the wildly innovative The Legend of Kaspar Hauser or the quietly haunting The Arrival of Wang. Today’s young Italian filmmakers are embracing classic storytelling models and formulas and breathing new life into them.
A celebration of directorial debuts , award-winners and the return of master filmmakers, this year’s lineup is bound to excite with such films as: Easy by Francesco Bruni; The Cardboard Village by Ermanno Olmi; Magnificent Presence by Ferzan Ozpetek; Diaz: Don’t Clean Up This Blood by Daniele Vicari; Shun Li and the Poet by Andrea Segre; My Tomorrow by Marina Spada; Dante Ferretti: Italian Production Designer by Gianfranco Giagni; The Legend Of Kaspar Houser by Davide Manuli; Escort in Love by Massimiliano Bruno; Seven Acts of Mercy by Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio; A Flat for Three by Carlo Verdone; The Arrival of Wang by Antonio and Marco Manetti; La`-Bas: A Criminal Education by Guido Lombardi; Kryptonite by Ivan Cotroneo; Horses By Michele Rho; Terraferma by Emanuele Crialese; Annalisa by Pippo Mezzapesa.
A showcase of US premieres and many in-person appearances by: Francesco Bruni (Scialla); Paola Cortellesi (Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare); Ivan Cotroneo (La Kryptonite nella Borsa); Massimiliano e Gianluca De Serio (Sette Opere di Misericordia); Antonio e Marco Manetti (L’Arrivo di Wang); Francesca Cuttica (L’Arrivo di Wang) ;Davide Manuli (La Leggenda di Kaspar Houser); Ferzan Ozpetek (Magnifica Presenza); Michele Rho (Cavalli); Andrea Segre (Io Sono Lì) ;Marina Spada (Il Mio Domani); Daniele Vicari (Diaz); Pippo Mezzapesa (Il paese delle spose infelici).
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
