Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

When a group of African immigrants builds a cardboard village between the pews of a church soon to be closed, an elderly priest must choose between his calling and his orders.

American sexologist Nicole Wilson travels with her female Asian assistant, Jane Dimao, to the Far East after being invited by a local professor, George Woo, to help him analyze the local women's sex fantasies.

In the gritty underbelly of 1970s Rome, the harsh reality of Neo-Nazi youth, living in the shadow of societal decay, is exposed. A group of disillusioned teenagers from the outskirts of the city, whose lives are shaped by violence, crime, and their environment, navigate their turbulent existence, finding themselves entangled in a deadly cycle of lawlessness and rebellion.

Spaghetti westerns, giallo, mondo... are the legacy of a golden age in Italian genre filmmaking, which began in the sixties and came to an end in the eighties, but not without leaving behind a few final masterpieces. This film explores, a few decades later, what became of those filmmakers and their films. A number of the most famous survivors of Italian horror movies will help to shed light on what happened.

A journalist meets a mysterious blonde. The meeting upsets his existence. Indeed, the man risks losing it completely.

The life of a dying young man at the short age of only forty-one after playing the lead in Il postino. He was a brilliant stage actor before becoming an astonishing film director.

In a southern villa after the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies live Donna Clotilde and Donna Gesualda. The first is a Bourbon baroness who rejects the new world and the Italian language. The other is the poor relative with duties as a maid. Apart from the village priest, they see no one. Then her nephew Ferdinando arrives at the villa, young, handsome, and squirming.

A group of kids tries to reach the Bifuoco Brazier before it runs out of fuel. During this race against time, they encounter some lightning-fast animals with whom they befriend and will never be separated again: they are the Smile and Go.

In a small convent immersed in the tranquility of the Tuscan countryside, four friars spend their days: Raniero, the gruff but friendly guardian, Gervasio, jovial but hypochondriac, the naive Bettino, and Vittorio, an elderly friar who tends the garden. Their daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of Antonio, who quickly wins the trust of the three friars, but not that of Raniero, who views him with great suspicion. The two engage in acts of espionage in an attempt to discover something about each other's past. While rummaging through Antonio's cell, Raniero makes a shocking discovery about an unspeakable secret...

A young Italian worker, persuaded by his friend to take on a one-off 'nightwatchman' job for easy money, finds the reality is more macabre -- and complex -- than he expected.

Sabata is condemned for a murder he never committed, but as he is about to be hanged, a mysterious man throws him a gun! Sabata escapes, wounding the guard whom somebody else shortly after kills. Someone wants to get our friend accused for a long list of crimes, but the strength of his innocence will save him. Having convinced the sheriff, the dramatic search for the guilty one begins.

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.

A documentary about Marcello Mastroianni.

School's out and 13-year-old Walter has lost his father. In his seemingly aimless wanderings around the Roman coast, a fascinating and mysterious place catches his eye: an abandoned villa with a huge, murky swimming pool. But the villa is not unguarded...

Thirty-year-old Yuri and his father run the last farm left in a small, remote mountain village. Desperate to find love, Yuri meets a young woman in a strip club. Chiara Campara's fiction film debut takes a hyperreal approach to portray forgotten members of society, giving the story an incredibly authentic feel.

A rich industrialist is accused of a crime he didn't commit. But every single clue leads to him.

Scaramouche, a skilled swordsman, goes to the Este court to steal a letter.

Alain is the only son of a wealthy bourgeois couple. He takes violin lessons in Ménilmontant, where he is spotted by Fleur, a poor girl: she is going to kidnap him and demand a ransom from the young man's parents, money which will be used to pay for a good lawyer for her brother accused of killing a policeman.

15-year-old Andrea lives in a world of his own, where an innocent friendship with a pretty girl becomes a full-blown romance. He invites her to a motor show in nearby Bologna, but she fails to show up at the bus station. Instead, Andrea is joined by his older sister Stefania–who's planning a runaway with her boyfriend Angelo.

A shy and oppressed professor inherits a musical theater show, so he has the opportunity to change is life and find the real love.

Dante Alighieri was a poet, philosopher and politician in 1300 Florence. The visionary author of "Inferno", the first book of the "Divine Comedy", he was both a direct witness and a narrator of his times and his poem is a remarkable geopolitical chronicle of a tumultuous period of the Middle Ages from 1300 to 1320, a time when Kings, Popes, rulers and warlords played a deadly chess game for the control of Europe. In this high end docudrama, some of the world's finest scholars will help provide historical context to the unfolding of events, making them accessible to a wide audience, and giving us a privileged viewpoint over one of the most eventful and funding chapters of European history.

Francesco Cesena, a middle-aged policeman, while carrying out a routine operation, is involved in a firefight in which his colleague loses his life. Cesena, wounded, shoots and kills the convict and his wife. About a year later two young men, Fabrizio and Simonetta, are arrested for stealing a car. Cesena and his assistant Cane, the same age as the two boys, have the task of interrogating them. Partly out of boredom at the late hour, partly out of curiosity, Cesena makes the two believe they know far more serious things about them than car theft.

In 1950s Italy, a government official arrives in a rural town to investigate a grisly child murder. The culprit is a young boy who claims he acted in order to kill the Devil itself.

The plot revolves around a mysterious murder that occurs during a storm, with the victim found in a room locked from the inside. The investigation focuses on a group of people, each with their own secrets. The solution to the crime is tied to an ancient artifact, the "Judas Eye," which plays a crucial role in solving the mystery.

Two previously unknown families see their lives turned upside down when a seemingly insignificant mistake leads them to a shocking discovery about their children's identities. The film is based on a true story.

After having been captured in a Crimea during a failed attempt to flee overseas, Leo returns in Petersburg for Kira.

A prostitute is robbed and murdered. A fourteen-year-old girl sees a suave gigolo come out of the hotel where the murder occurred. She has a schoolgirl crush on the handsome man though, so instead of reporting the crime she befriends him.

In 2011 the Syrian people rise up against the Assad regime. When Dr. Haider, a pediatric heart surgeon, loses his brother in a terrorist attack, he decides to fulfill his last wish, finding himself questioning everything he has always believed in.

Italian drama written and directed by Brunello Rondi.

Three friends live together in the house owned by one of them - and look for happiness

A group of friends decide to spend a weekend in a castle belonging to Riccardo, a moody and hyper-sensitive young artist. The only other inhabitants of the castle are a mysterious housekeeper, Caterina, and the demented Aldo. The group are joined by two friends: Serena and a young American medium, Anthony. During a seance Anthony predicts a tragedy, then leaves the castle, shocked by his own visions. An hour later, Serena is found strangled to death in bed. The others become gradually more and more diffident and suspicious, especially when another girl is murdered...

An Italian government agent is assigned to break up a drug smuggling ring on the island of Ischia but his daughter is kidnapped by the gang.

Italian made-for-TV drama.

After a close call on on the highway, Marco--a very famous singer/songwriter in 1968--climbs onto the roof of his car and starts to sing. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, he tries to take his life back into his own hands.

Antonio takes a hit on his head when he's out to buy a jar of mushrooms for his wife, and loses his memory. He reappears five years later unaware that time has passed.

A good-natured priest inherits a large sum of money from a former student at his elementary school and must decide wisely on how to use it best.

David of Bethlehem slays the giant and becomes a rival to King Saul.

This highly acclaimed feature film on Pope John Paul II was filmed on location in Italy and Poland. Focusing on the papacy of John Paul and the tremendous impact he had on the Church and the world, Karol: The Pope, The Man stars actor Piotr Adamczyk in a deeply moving portrayal of the beloved pontiff. It is the powerful true story of a charismatic spiritual leader who helped bring down Communism, renewed the life of the Church, greatly impacted youth worldwide with love for Christ, and a Pope who reached out to other religions and world leaders with a message of peace and love. Also stars Raoul Bova (Saint Francis), Michele Placido (Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth) and Adriana Asti as Mother Teresa. The beautiful film score is by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.

Young radical Riccardo returns home after hiding in South America for five years, only to find out that his comrades either gave up their ideals or turned to drugs, while all they fought for seems to have set the stage for near-anarchy.

In the 90s, four friends try a hand-crafted card game their friend has created. Whilst playing, things quickly start to go wrong as strange occurrences begin happening quickly.

When Milanese salesman Piero witnesses the mob killing of a prominent magistrate, he testifies in court. The government puts him into the witness protection program, but the traumatic experiences he suffers leaves him wondering if he should have remained silent.

In the year 1870 Rome, then governed by the Pope, was captured by the Italian General La Marmora's troops. After the armistice, the Italian soldier Alfonso killed a Pope's soldier, the son of Don Prospero. Then he sought refuge in the house of Don Prospero himself. There Costanza and Olimpia, respectively the wife and the daughter of Don Prospero, fall for him. Then Gustavo, who knew that Alfonso had killed Don Prospero's son arrived in the house... Some things are going to happen

An unemployed young man has a relationship with the mistress of a rich industrialist. In order to escape her protector, he decides to commit a robbery in the company of a friend...