Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

The uneventful lives of three young men who live in a small, poverty-stricken village in southern Italy.

With her father on trial, 15-year-old Mignon leaves Paris to stay with her Italian relatives. The rather prim, snooty teen at first struggles to fit in with the more earthy Forbicioni family, each with their own problems. Eventually she bonds with her lovestruck little cousin Giorgio—who'll learn important life lessons over the course of his summer with Mignon.

A man drives his car off a cliff in an apparent suicide. One insurance investigator is not so sure it was an accident or suicide and gets 48 hours to prove his case.

In 1934, while traveling to Stockholm, where he is about to receive the Nobel Prize, the Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello recalls his life and his relationship with the loved ones who have inspired his art.

Combining high definition and Super 8 footage, Lampedusa is composed of interwoven narratives based on a series of real events. In 1831, a volcanic island suddenly erupted from the sea a few kilometers off the southern coast of Sicily. An international dispute ensued, as a number of European powers laid claim to this newfound “land”. The island receded below sea level six months later, leaving only a rocky ledge under the sea…

Peppino, a diminutive taxidermist with a reputation for sleaziness, meets Valerio, a handsome if artless much younger man fascinated by the trade. Peppino offers him a large salary to be his assistant—the job burgeoning into a budding friendship he mistakes for something more. When Valerio gets a girlfriend, their fledgling romance will be threatened by an insanely jealous third wheel.

A man who had everything taken away from him, including his family, by his brother teams up with a young card player in order to take revenge on the brother.

Franco, singer in search of success, falls in love with Marisa. But she walks away from him to stay close to her sick cousin.

Italy, Europe and America during the 'Dolce Vita' years narrated with unseen and rare footage from NBC Archives in New York.

April 9, 2009. Alberto, a firefighter marked by a dramatic past, enters a deserted bar during the news broadcast reporting on the destruction and victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo, which occurred three days earlier. Tormented by the memory of a tragic event, he recognizes an old trophy as a symbol of his pain. Arriving in the earthquake zone, Alberto and his colleagues dig through the rubble, aided by a sniffer dog led by Enrico. When the animal signals something unusual, Alberto decides to intervene. That descent into the ruins becomes a challenge that will force him to confront the shadow of a memory that has never truly been buried.

Elsa Martinelli plays a resident of a seaside village who falls in love with rootless stranger Antonio Ciffariello. The stranger soon learns that he'll have to fight over Elsa's affections with hotheaded villager Luis Pena. Meanwhile, a fisherman who illegally uses dynamite nearly causes tragedy to the entire community.

Mario Gastaldi, a lawyer with no clients and no money, agrees to be a negotiator in a deal on stolen paintings, between the boss Peseti and the engineer Farnese, who plots kidnappings unsuspectedly. After he cashed from Farnese three hundred millions of lire to deliver to Peseti, Mario lets money be robbed by four pickpockets, which he is naturally in cahoots with and which he will share out it with. Money cannot be used since it comes from a kidnapping and it was marked. The lawyer will be able to make the boss get arrested.

After a peaceful sailboat ride, four young people, including rich kid Bill, Joe, Fred and Jane, knock on the door of a secluded villa after their dune buggy runs out of gas. Earlier in the day, Bill had given the lovely Jane a pearl necklace with a supposedly paranormal history, and this later opens up a can of worms. They are invited to spend the night at the mansion, owned by Lord Alexander and Lady Alexander, who happen to be hosting a strange ceremony that night attended by a group of eccentrics in black robes. During the evening, Jane exits her sleep chamber, seemingly in some kind of trance, and is lured to a sacrificial alter where the robed houseguests are hovering over her. As a knife is about to be plunged into the young lady, her three friends come to the rescue, but they are also witness to a chaotic mass murder catastrophe in which they flee with feelings of guilt and uncertainty.

Steve McGowan has proposed to avenge the death of his father, murdered by one of the followers of Chief Miller. This engages the services of a famous gunslinger called Sabata and instructs him to kill Steve. The fate joins Steve and the Mexican bandit Leon Pompero, and together they decide to defeat the murderous gunman.

A little boy meets the old hero Garibaldi who tells him the story of his adventures.

August 1991. As post-Communist Albania starts falling apart, Giorgio seeks refuge in Italy.

In a small Italian town, the local youngsters realize that their youth is coming to an end and marriage will soon follow. They gather together for one last time in an attempt to revive their younger days, but this comes to a dismal conclusion. Gradually it dawns on the group that childhood is over and the next stage in human growth must be faced.

Third chapter of the Comic saga, with Paolo Villaggio and Renato Pozzetto. Four different gags. From two electricians who combine all kinds of things during a theatrical performance, to competing for the attention of a beautiful girl during a campsite, to hired bodyguards of a judge threatened by the mafia, and finally as the adoptive parents of a newborn found outside the door of the house.

Young adventurer Gipo owns one fifth of a rock illustrating the location of a rich gold mine. Risking his life more than once and with the help of the beautiful hooker, Lulu Belle, our hero sets out to recover the missing pieces.

The film takes place entirely in a gym, outdoor swimming pool and table beneath umbrellas where guests can have lunch. The action has a interweaving of betrayals heterosexual and homosexual.

A wealthy broker, Federico Picchioni, within two days forfeits his partner and work, finishing well to living with two children and granddaughter (abandoned by her father). He is, at this point, in the face of many difficulties of adjustment but finds comfort in the help of his neighbor.

The daughter of a former Neapolitan gangster, Carmela has a law degree and is set to marry an aristocrat, as her father wishes. However, she suffers from a strange form of sleepwalking: at night, she goes to the room of Totò, a young man she is completely indifferent to and who is also her father's enemy. After consulting a doctor to find out the reason for this embarrassing anomaly, Carmela realises that Totò is actually the man she is unconsciously in love with.

A story about the mythical film director

Giacomo befriends a con man, believing that he is the reincarnation of his dead father.

Lorella must marry Dr. Matteini, but when she goes to Naples to meet him, she meets Michele, who sings in restaurants. The fateful spark is ignited, and although Michele is poor, Lorella decides to marry him against his mother's wishes.

When young cop Andrea is assigned to keep watch over dangerous Godfather Sante, who's in hospital after a fake suicide attempt, the stage is set for disaster.

Norberto Lopez Amado's They're Watching Us is about a cop who becomes obsessed with a case. Juan (Carmelo Gomez) is ordered to head up an investigation concerning a businessman who has been missing for almost three years. The officer who worled on the case previously now resides in a mental institution and is unable to say anything other than, "They're watching us." A priest (Roberto Alvarez) explains how a series of disappearances in the area have supernatural underpinnings. As Juan is absorbed deeper and deeper into the case, his mother is concerned for him.

A German officer is forced to marry Louise, daughter of a general, hero of the First World War. But Louise maintains lesbian relationships with Margo.

In an accident the young mechanic Marco Coccia meets Cristiana. The two fall in love with one another. Cristiana confesses only later that she is a genuine princess. For Marco it is not a problem, but for Cristiana's parents it is a very big problem. The two must separate. When one evening Cristiana calls Marco and lets him know about her forthcoming wedding, Marco with the car races toward Paris and has an accident...

The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.

The President, an intern and two fiber optics specialists find themselves trapped in the Oval Office after discovering the windows and doors have been rigged to explode.

A promising law student from a good family is driven by a cool cardsharper into a downward spiral of criminality, discovering a part of himself he had never known.

The story of a small, simple and happy family in which a boy, a manipulator, violently enters, which distorts the life of this wonderful fifteen-year-old and makes her a nightmare.

In a remote Southern Italian village, fear spreads after a series of mysterious disappearances in the nearby woods. When two strangers arrive claiming to be messengers of the Lord, the desperate townspeople see them as saviors-except for one woman, who, with the help of a free-spirited girl and an outcast accused of witchcraft, uncovers a darker truth that lies beyond

In a Roman high school, a jaded art professor who lost the spark for the job clashes with an ex pupil of his, an adjunct literature teacher who is trying to rescue an eccentric and rebellious student, while the stern headmistress deals with a student from a difficult background.

Peplum movie from 1964

Stefano Garbelli is employed by a pharmaceutical company. One evening Daniela, a young independent prostitute, approaches Stefano pretending to be a nurse. They get together, but Daniela has a sinister plan.

A historian goes to a castle library to translate some ancient erotic literature. While there he discovers what he believes to be supernatural forces at work.

Ali Baba, a young woodcutter, with the help of his friend Miseria - a talking donkey - provides for his poor family. Smart and ambitious he works hard to get rich and to be able to marry his only love: Alia, the Sultan's daughter.

Tokyo. Kazu and Tatsu are two salary men in their thirties. One night, after work, they get drunk and decide to tell each other their deepest secrets to seal the friendship. Tatsu admits being still a virgin. Kazu reveals that every time he eats an egg sandwich, his body transforms, turning him into a woman. Tatsu doesn’t believe his friend and asks him to prove it...

"City of Baseball" is a documentary that explores both the past and the present of the Italian baseball league in the seaside resort of Nettuno near Rome. Through league pioneers, current players, fans, and local historians, "City of Baseball" captures the story of how the 1944 Allied invasion of Nettuno brought the American pastime to a town which embraced the sport with a passion that continues today.

In this Biblical epic, a brave Chaldean rebel takes on his evil nemesis, a cruel Assyrian king. En route to his fateful meeting, the rebel hides in the humble hut of a luscious peasant girl.

A group of American tourists is traveling through Spain when two of them are murdered by a mysterious serial killer who removes an eyeball from every one of its victims. The tour presses on as the murders continue, with the travelers and the police trying to deduce which one of them is the killer.

A new adventure for the Dumas musketeers who this time must save the Infanta of Spain from the intrigues of the Prince of Condé who wants to take the throne at any cost. (This film is a compendium edit made from episodes of the television series "I tre moschettieri")

A Sicilian (Turi Ferro) feels his masculinity threatened when his son returns with an androgynous girlfriend whom everyone else assumes to be male.

Petralia, a Neapolitan policeman casually makes friends with Maria, a girl engaged in the smuggling of cigarettes and belonging to the family of Ferdinando Il Barone.

Paolo Mancuso is a gang boss whose rivals want dead. During a failed assassination attempt, he is bitten by an infected lab rat. In the short time he has left to live, he tracks down his enemies and kills them one by one.

Anna falls madly in love with an Italian violinist, who instead marries her sister Monika.

Paul Blanc runs a butcher's shop with his Neapolitan wife, the vivacious Giulia. One night, thanks to sleeping pills received from his brother in Argentina, he dreams of horse racing and sees in his dream the order of arrival of the horses. Giulia praises her husband's gift at the local café. But the turfmen dissuade her from betting on the nags chosen by Paul, who they consider to be real losers! But her vision proves to be right. When her secret is discovered, everyone wants to buy this miracle medicine. But the product is no longer manufactured, as it is considered dangerous and has been banned by the authorities.

The rise of the comedian, actor and entertainer who became the improbable wartime leader. Exploring the man behind the series of game changing social media and TV appearances which have encapsulated the defiant response of a nation.

Claudio is a selfish 40 year-old man who enjoys all the pleasures in life. With a limitless bank account at his disposal and a charming appearance, he jumps from one girl to the next . . . until he falls in love with Luisa.

A peasant leader under the enlightened despotism of Empress Catherine the Great, and a love story.

Il Fornaretto di Venezia (US TV title: The Scapegoat) is a 1963 Italian film directed by Duccio Tessari who co-wrote screenplay with Marcello Fondato, based on novel by Francesco Dall'Ongaro. It tells the story of 16th century's Venice where a young worker is sentenced to death on the suspicion of attacking a noble.

Eva Bianchi, who works as a manicure in a beauty salon in Milan, falls in love with the owner Adamo Rossi. But Adam, who at first always gives her roses, now no longer seems interested in her.

It was the reign of Louis XV and, in 1750, France was at war all the time, and the people, suffocated by taxes, liked their beloved Louis less and less. When the governor of Dauphiné arrived in Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, he had to deal with opponents of the regime who had gathered around cooper Louis Mandrin. Mandrin becomes the vigilante who respects his king, but does not tolerate the oppression of the poor through taxation.

The ironic study of a young man's poignant adventures and sensual adventures...based on "Roman Tales" by Alberto Moravia.

Set between 1802 and 1818, it is the epic true story of a Spanish army officer and genius conspirator. Missioned by Spain, Domingo Badia, alias Ali Bey El Abbassi will meet Lady Hester Stanhope, an English aristocrat, better known under the name of Meleki, and they will live together an extraordinary destiny which will upset the Middle East.