Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

Two groups of students - the third-class high school students and the matured accountants - decide to perform a show to celebrate the last day of school.

The action takes place in 1703 and Colbert wants to buy the duchy of Pignero ,unbeknowst to the old Duke. A sadistic villain (a count) is slowly poisoning the lord, besides he covets her daughter. The iron mask is here the duke's son, but the hangman's daughter takes pity on the unfortunate prisoner. The nasty traitor oppresses the poor, but André and his men (complete with priest) do their Robin Hood act.

First violin in the orchestra of a big city, S. has an extraordinary memory, which leads him to remember every detail of what falls under his attention. When he realizes that he can no longer read a score, because the notes before his eyes explode into moving and colorful points, he decides to contact Professor L., an internationally renowned psychologist.

Set in 1960, the year of the Rome Olympics, a 13 year-old boy with aspirations to become an athlete befriends an ageing, disabled bus driver who understands his ambitions.

In the 1950s, a big stir was made by a book (and its corresponding movie) called The Ugly American. Its subject was the grievous damage done to local cultures by well-meaning but essentially clueless (and frequently arrogant) representatives of the U.S. Since then, the phenomenon of cultural damage cause by arrogant tourists and visitors has been demonstrated to be something everyone is capable of. In this thoughtful, comic drama, the subject is Italians overseas. In this film, Malindi Kenya is the playground of rich Italians.

Nora is a striking young girl in new love. We see her dancing around her bedroom, lip-synching, testing outfits, in between sending heart emojis, and more, to the special boy. All dressed up, she takes a short cut through an abandoned building, on the way for her hot date. Kevin pulls up in the background on his scooter. He's Nora's recent ex, jilted and jealous. Kevin grabs Nora's phone, and what ensues is a now universal 21st century story of male-female power, sexuality and shame with a biting, feminist twist.

Little Luigi, the son of Guido and Elena, has a strange illness. To save him, they must inject his blood into a healthy person with his same blood type in order to create antibodies the fight off the infection.

Face Addict tells the story of a unique and unrepeatable experience, that of the artistic community in New York between the late '70s and early '80s, known as the downtown scene.

A young man whose passions are money, beautiful women and racing motorcycles comes up with a scheme that will allow him to combine all three, all while committing the "perfect" crime.

It has been 500 years since the death of Leonardo da Vinci. In "Being Leonardo da Vinci," Finazzer Flory gives viewers a captivating, unforgettable look into what makes and shapes the mind of a legend.

Twenty-four hours before his wedding, two unexpected romances threaten Arturo's wedlock.

Andrei Tarkovsky and screenwriter Tonino Guerra journey across Italy in preparation for "Nostalghia." Their location scouting unfolds into a wide-ranging conversation about filmmaking, artistic simplicity, and cultural identity, with Tarkovsky articulating his creative philosophy while confronting the emotional weight of working far from his homeland.

Two Sicilian's, Peppe Truzzoliti and Antonio Mancuso, decide, after a misadventure with some mafia drug dealers, to leave the cold and racist Turin to return to their native land. Along for the ride with them is Domenica, a beautiful girl from Veneto, who had arrived in Turin in search of work, but due to a number of setbacks, had been forced into prostitution.

Catania, 1960s. At the beach resort run by the charming Rozzo Finocchiaro, Stefano, a blind elderly man, observes and comments with ironic and acerbic commentary on the behavior of the people who frequent the beach and whose lives are intertwined. Passing under his scrutiny are the industrialist Alfredo Condorelli—married to the wealthy Maria Rita and engaged in a clandestine affair with his secretary Rosalba—the stifling Rosa—wife of the former playboy Alfredo—the four bigwigs Roberto, Michele, Armando, and Rocco; the musician Gregorio Alacci; the fallen boss Jano Suarez; the Lanzafame family; and Peppino Di Paternò—a fifty-year-old married to the statuesque Ulla.

At the Hotel Majestic in Cannes, Tilda Swinton talks to director Luca Guadagnino about cinema, loneliness and love.

Italian mondo documentary

Biblical figure Jacob is forced to flee for his life when an enraged Esau vows to kill him.

Intrigue at the Roman Emperor's court prior to its destruction by Vesuvius.

The life of a young woman is turned upside down after a violent assault, making her realize the fragility of her freedom.

Matteo, a nine years old kid, builds a mask identical to the one of his hero: a wrestler of a roman suburb called The Tiger. Once the mask is on, Matteo never wants to take it off. What simply appears as a tantrum is in reality a call for help that nobody seems to hear.

Vincenzo, a railwayman who works on the Rome-to-Paris line, has a wife in Italy and a mistress in France: Ginette, a widow with a four-year-old daughter. When he's offered a job in Paris he decides to move, but unfortunately his wife and petulant brother-in-law insist on accompanying him to Paris, and he must decide between the two women in his life.

Using Leonardo Da Vinci's innovative designs for weapons of war, flying engines and other machinery, three brothers join forces to fight a wicked and powerful Duke in early-Renaissance Italy.

Paolo and Maria are two elementary teachers, who love each other, but can not have a child.

Attilio is a 17-year-old boy living in the Traiano neighborhood of Naples. With his father having just been released from prison, in order to earn some money he agrees to be a guardian for Anastasia, a young prostitute from Eastern Europe. Progressively a feeling arises between the two that will push the boy to make choices.

Two very different men have something in common: the work. When their companies are bought by a bigger one, who will take the only place of boss of the new company?

Fatma and her mother are Kurdish refugees living in Italy. One day at the hospital, Fatma learns her mother has breast cancer.

An engineer has a romance with the mistress of a rich banker but she sacrifices herself,returning to the rich man, for the best interests of the lover and his family.

Solo, an everyman who seemingly brings misfortune upon other people's relationships, faces his own fear of love.

An American agent discovers that the Red Chinese have built a secret atomic city from which they will attempt to invade America.

In Mussolini's Rome a murderer is targeting young girls. The movie explores how the fascist mind works, how it plays its values off the sentiment of the masses and explores the role of the press in creating a unified narrative.

A widow is unjustly imprisoned for theft and her daughter is sent to live with her grandmother.

Two inept crusaders almost sabotage the christians' plan to conquer Jerusalem.

In an isolated villa, Davide Lugani lives with his wife, Carlo, his brother, and their secretary Paolo. Wheelchair-bound Carlo is blind and mute, but his abnormal sensitivity allows him to predict events before they happen. Davide dies of a suspected heart attack and Carlo's nurse is shot dead. The police suspect Davide's widow as well as Paolo, who seems to be her lover. Just as the pair are about to be arrested, there is a twist...

Considered the heart of the south of Italy, Naples has enraptured its inhabitants and visitors for generations. In the fascinating documentary MAGIC NAPLES, actor/director Marco D'Amore (Gomorrah) sets out to uncover why his beloved Naples is said to be magical. D’Amore presents the city as a world suspended between reality and representation, ruthless truth and admirable fiction. With curiosity and attention, he unearths its mysteries, legends, tragedies, love and a three-thousand-year-old maze of tunnels - the tomb of the secrets on which the entire city rests.

Salvatore, known as "bread loaf", escapes from Caltanissetta's brewery to find his mother he never met. Before arriving in Venice, he stays in a small sea village where he meets people of various kinds.

A beautiful tavern-keeper finds herself getting caught up in a war between Italy and Turkey.

Based on Sébastien Japrisot's novel, the story revolves around a young girl who suffers from amnesia after surviving a terrible fire.

After a boat accident where he puts his son Flavio’s life at risk, fisherman Capudemazza decides to never go fishing again. Ten years later a discovery about his son awakens a feeling in him that had been buried.

Dr. Massimo Banti, a surgeon in a hospital, falls in love with Sister Angela, a nun nurse.

11-year-old Christian lives with his Italian mother Gioia in poverty on the island of Ischia. His German father died in a rescue mission before Christian was born. The kind boy had an unremarkable and calm life until, one day, his grandfather Carl Schneibel finds him. Schneibel is a wealthy businessman who had never seen Christian before. Since the old lonely man has no heir, he decides to take Christian in and offer him a good education. Schneibel has never been on good terms with his son and never liked his son’s choice of wife, so he decides that Gioia must not come along. Despite, Gioia does not wish to obstruct her son’s future and allows him to go. Thanks to his good nature and his kind ways, Christian wins the heart of his grandfather and changes his life for the better.

While the student elections are approaching in a high school, two parties have their election speeches.

A dystopian sci-fi thriller set in "Paradise", an imaginary city where A.I. is taking over the workforce leading the social isolation.

In the summer of his nineteenth year, Giulio has decided not to go away: he will spend his vacation at home, helping his parents with their work in the vegetable garden. In the house next door, empty for some time, arrives Lia, a twenty-year-old girl. Giulio would like to get to know her, but she is sullen and introverted. One day Giulio is swimming in the lake and Lia plays at drowning him. Giulio is a regular guy, sensitive and polite to a fault. Attracted to her, he starts thinking about her day and night. Lia initiates him into strange and increasingly dangerous "games." The girl won't talk about herself though. She has told him she came alone to spend her vacation in the old family home, where she hadn't been since she was a child. But Lia has secrets to keep and won't let anyone set foot in the old and abandoned house.

After the news of the death of Don Dino, who was transferred to Trentino, Donato leaves to attend the funeral. When he arrives at his destination, he discovers that he has been appointed his deputy in the parish.

The story of Federica Angeli, reporter of the daily newspaper "La Repubblica" that investigates the Roman underworld, challenging threats and dangers.

Two brothers kidnap a has-been actress who makes a living doing TV commercials for a fur-clothing company and demands that all animals be freed and businesses be closed. The problem is that everyone thinks the kidnapping is only a publicity-stunt set up by the attention-hungry actress...

In 1525, on the evening of the Battle of Pavia, François 1er was taken prisoner by the armies of Charles-Quint, with the Constable de Bourbon on their side. His mother, regent of the kingdom, commissioned the king's loyal equerry, Antoine de Montpezat, to raise a ransom of two million ecus and send it to Madrid. Despite the treachery of Vandoeuvre, governor of Languedoc and supporter of the connétable de Bourbon, who has his eye on the French throne, Montpezat accomplishes his mission and is reunited with his fiancée, who had almost married the traitor Vandoeuvre.

Ilaria Alpi, a young, Italian war-corespondent, was on a dangerous mission in Somalia. While she covered the civil war, she also discovered a big and secret international enviromentscandale. Together with her cameraman she was killed in the streets of Mogadishus March, 1994. The film is based on a true story.

If the heart remains the one of a child, is it really that absurd to meet Santa on a Christmas Eve?