Cinema Made in Italy: Highlights

Cinema Made in Italy: Highlights

This year’s Cinema Made in Italy Festival will feature a wide range of genres across nine critically-acclaimed films. Many of these films will be celebrating their UK premiere at the London festival at this five day festival. Catch a glimpse at what Italian’s finest films have to offer:

Anna (Per Amor Vostro) – directed by Giuseppe Gudino

Shown on: Thursday 10 March (6.15pm)

Neapolitan wife and mother Anna (Valeria Golino) feels trapped in her home where she must deal with an abusive husband while taking care of three teenagers. Anna tries to find meaning in life by getting a job as a cue card holder at a local production company, where she falls for soap opera star Michele (Adriano Gianni). Anna must juggle a delicate balance between love and family while trying to find the happiness she lost years ago. This film is mainly in black & white with glimpses of colour to show Anna’s change in feelings throughout the duration of the film.

First Light (La Prima Luce) – directed by Vincenzo Marra

Shown on: Friday 11 March (6.20pm)

Marco (Riccardo Scamarcio), a young lawyer, lives in Bari with his South African partner Martina (Daniela Ramírez) and their son, Mateo (Gianni Pezzolla). Martina doesn’t feel like she can have a future in Bari, which prompts her to take Mateo and leave Marco without a warning. Marco goes on a wild hunt in South America with a private detective to find his family and must deal with a gripping international child custody battle.

The Beginners (Alaska) – directed by Claudio Cupellini

Shown on: Friday 11 March (8.50pm)

A hotel waiter (Elio Germano) and a young model (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) meet and fall in love in unconventional circumstances. The two struggle to keep their relationship together while they both deal with rocky situations in their separate lives.

Wonderous Boccaccio (Maraviglioso Boccaccio) – directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani

Shown on: Saturday 12 March (6.00pm)

Originally based off of Boccaccio’s book Decameron, the 14^th century plague hits the city of Florence and causes chaos amongst the people struggling to stay alive. A group of young men and women flee to the Tuscan hills to escape death and seek shelter in a remote villa where they take turns telling each other stories of love and its many merits to ease their minds off of the current situation.

God Willing (Se Dio Vuole)– directed by Edoardo Falcone

Shown on: Saturday 12 March (8.50pm)

This award-winning comedy and box-office hit in Italy stars Marco Giallini as Tommaso, a successful Atheist surgeon with a loving family. When his son decides to join the priesthood after talking to a charismatic priest, Tommaso is unhappy and takes the matter into his own hands by going undercover to spy on the priest. Tommaso’s excessive detective work starts to pull the family apart, leaving Tommaso trying to mend what he started.

Don’t Be Bad (non Essere Cattivo) – directed by Claudio Caligari

Shown on: Sunday 12 March (4.30pm)

Taking place in the 1990s, Two troubled men Cesare and Vittorio are caught up in the Roman ghetto club scene. Vittorio starts to realize that he needs to turn his life around and attempts to make Cesare do the same. Cesare agrees, but unfortunately falls back into the same old habits. This Oscar-nominated film almost didn’t make it to the silver screen. Just before the completion of Don’t Be Bad, director Claudio Caligari passed away after a battle with cancer. With the help of donors funding the rest of the project, the remaining team had the film ready just in time for the Venice Film Festival.

They Call Me Jeeg Robot (Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot) –directed by Gabriele Mainetti

Shown on: Sunday 13 March (7.30pm)

Petty thief Enzo (Claudio Santamaria) becomes exposed to a radioactive chemical and starts to develop unique superpowers. Enzo is set to use his powers to help him steal more things until he meets Alessia, a girl who confuses him with Steel Jeeg, a Japanese magna character. This unique spin on the superhero films is certainly a must-watch for any fan of the latest action films. They Call Me Jeeg Robot covers a range of issues in Italy, from political to societal.

Long Live the Bride (Viva La Sposa) – directed by Ascanio Celestini

Shown on: Monday 14 March (6.30pm)

Nicola, A puppeteer with alcoholism, lives in the outskirts of Rome and is responsible for a boy that may or may not be he son. Nicola finds himself in the land of criminals after becoming involved in a fatal accident, which was originally a hoax to begin with.

Chlorine (Cloro) – directed by Lamberto Sanfelice

Shown on: Monday 14 March (8.40pm)

A young teenage girl’s dream of becoming a synchronized swimmer is put on hold when she is forced to move to a remote mountain village in Abruzzo following her mother’s death. Her responsibility of her sick father and younger brother hold her down from following her dreams, and she tries her best to cope with the situation.

CINEMA MADE IN ITALY takes place at Cine Lumiere, London.