Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

After her audition as Juliet fails to impress, a young actress determined to act in the latest production of Shakespeare's play crossdresses and is unexpectedly chosen for the role of Romeo.

Giggi is a city boy convinced that "in life you must always hit first". And, good or bad, he gains a certain popularity between beatings, dates and blows taken.

Italian costume drama about convicted women in France being sent to the penal colony on Devil's Island where they must wade through alligator-infested waters and find gold. Life on the island is tough for these buxom, beautifully-swept coiffed maidens - virtually none who look like they had even the slightest knowledge of crimes worthy of such a punishment. Here, if the girls want to get a day of rest they must work the night with the guards and/or warden of the island, but some changes come when Guy Madison arrives as the new warden out to change the horrible lives led by these playmate-wannabes.

In the Sicily of the late 1940s, two brother sculptors, tired of selling madonnas to the local churches, finally realize their dream, and set up a Sicilian production company, thanks to the help of a local bishop. They start producing one box-office failure Z-movie after the other, all with terribly bad local non-pros as actors. Covered in debts, they finally have their great chance, when a local nobleman obsessed by magic decides to invest all his wealth in the making of a movie about Cagliostro, just one year after Orson Welles' Black Magic (1949). They hire a famous American actor (Robert Englund) and start shooting "The Return of Cagliostro".

When $300,000,000 in diamonds are stolen from a fiery plane wreck the British Government become concerned that it might be part of a plot to undermine the value of sterling. They hire professional photographer, amateur lady-killer, and undercover agent Steve Norton to investigate.

Efisio Mulas is a meek laborer who lives with occasional work, especially in Don Leandro Sanna's salon, and rounds up the slim balance by betting with colleagues in strength with the game "head against head". In the village the Sanna and Porcu families' conflict has lasted over a century.

Blue-collar worker Diego lives in the Roman suburbs and is about to marry his lifelong fiancée. His feelings are put to the test on the eve of the wedding, when, while working on the renovation of a luxury home, he meets Viola, his boss's granddaughter, and becomes fascinated by a lifestyle light-years away from his.

During a banquet, the diners begin to tell various stories to be happy. All the novels speak of betrayals and erotic adventures

A journalist and his female companion travel to interview a famous musician in Rome where a generous invite to a country estate becomes something much more than anyone expected.

Well-known writer Ettore takes his family on a mountain chalet getaway for his birthday, in an effort to create a bond between his two sons, Claudio and Giulio, and his second wife, Margherita. The group is also joined by Margherita's brother, Claudio's girlfriend, a Ukraininan cook and her daughter. When an internet outage strikes, a series of exciting adventures ensues.

The exploits of three young Roman criminals are chronicled in this socially conscious drama. The young men commit petty crimes all day, beginning with arms theft, leading to an encounter with three streetwalkers. After their pleasure, the boys try to cheat the hookers, but the ladies are smarter than that and have stolen their cash ahead of time.  It's back to the city for the boys, where they continue their destructive games...

In the late 1800's, Sicilians Franco and Ciccio are serving 20 years of prison for stealing two mules, when they are helped to escape by an American who says he is a friend of their grandfathers, who were killed in Texas by a gang of bandits who wanted to take over their gold mine. The two friends travel to America to take posses of the gold mine, but they soon discover that they are not the only ones who want it.

On this beautiful May 1st, Thérèse is about to give birth. Their presence at home is undesirable, so Jean, her husband, decides to take François, their little boy, to a soccer match. Their plans change when they meet a former factory mate who seems to have made a success of his life. This man, Blanchot, decides to return to Jean a sum of money he had once borrowed. Trusted, Jean is drawn into a clandestine circle, where his apparent luck delivers him without ulterior motive to Blanchot, who is one of the ringleaders. The police interrupt the dangerous game, putting Jean, who has no identity papers, in an awkward situation.

Aspiring writer Tommaso makes a living by penning the self-help column of a women's magazine. One day he receives a letter from a reader asking for advice on how to break up with her man: it is none other than Zoe, his partner of ten years, unaware of his pseudonymous side job. Tommaso can't believe his eyes and answers her in private to learn more.

A white and a blue collar worker fall in love during the 1980 strike at FIAT that marked the end for labor movement in Italy.

Several young men have to stop an ancient native American evil in the form of a killer shark which is attacking a small beach community.

Anthony M. Wilson is an English gentleman. He has a string of restaurants in London plus a beautiful house decorated with all the trendy art he can get.

Five friends forge their resumes and enroll to Oxford in orders to help one of them end up with the girl he's in love with.

With her marriage and her life disintegrating before her eyes, in this Italian political thriller, Sarah has made a detailed filmed record of it all. Not only that, she made a film of the man who flung bombs into a political demonstration and she is killed for her effort. The story unravels as Sarah's husband, who is suspected of being her murderer, views the film on a moviola. He is trying to figure out what happened and why his wife died. Because he has the film which would expose the murderer and the political forces behind him, his life is also in danger

Moonbase Luna represents Earth's first Defence bulwark against the extraterrestrial threat, and is therefore one of the primary targets in attacks by UFOs. At the command of the fascinating Lieutenant Ellis, Base Luna is one of the most sophisticated facilities in SHADO, the secret organisation tasked with defending Earth from alien incursions.

In this sword and sandal fantasy, a gladiator named Poseidon must battle a quartet of combatants in ancient Rome. If he wins, the son of Hercules will have his life and anything else he wants. Sure enough, he wins and asks that the life of a Christian girl be spared. But the girl refuses her liberty until all of her fellow believers are also released.

Annetta, of Sicilian origins, is annoyed by the different treatments and freedoms reserved for men and women. Because of her rebellious attitude, the girl is locked up in the house of her relatives where she suffers an attempt of violence by her uncle. After returning to her parents, she finally gets married to her beloved Nicola.

The ruthless and cruel Captain Ramirez hunts down and kills revolutionaries in his search for The Saint, the righteous leader of the Mexican insurrection against the Federales.

Spicchietta and Bagigio have been engaged for a while; they live together in a rented room, in an apartment they share with other people. They love each other, or at least they think they do, but they are beginning to feel cramped by their life – and their room.

Inspired by the work of an award-winning Italian novelist, this post-modern noir fantasy is centered on the image of a young poet and his aristocratic family. Set in the 1800s the plot develops around an ancient curse and a series of mysterious and terrifying events occurring on the family country estate. Featuring authentic period sets and costumes, the film is a metaphor of maturing and becoming, where death and rebirth intertwine and perpetuate each other in a continuous flux of life.

Two members of a former group of friends find themselves after many years by chance through the streets of Milan; after a moment, memories of the past resurface.

Through five stories, the film talks about the problems related to social networks and its use especially by young people.

Dr. Antonio Mazzuolo obsessively fights against what he perceives as immorality in Rome, only to be driven mad by a seductive billboard of Anita Ekberg that haunts him with hallucinations.

Consisting of two segments, the film is centered on two great Israelite leaders found in the Book of Judges.

El Cisco, who escaped a hanging with an exploding cigar, returns to the town of Calabasas five years later looking for the men who framed him.

Romolo, a man lazy and devoid of any interest, has been married for ten years with Ines, the owner of a small service station. Tired of supporting his despotic and demanding wife, Romolo searches for a way out and finds it when Orazio, a former fellow soldier, who lives by his wits, invites him to roam freely with him around the world.

Aldo Muratti, is a man, separated from his wife, who to pay for food and be able keep his daughter writes porn novels.

Luca Altieri is a gambler. He likes cards and he is a master in playing poker. He is a cardsharper too. He begins working for "The President", who has many gambling houses and everything seems to go well until Luca falls for Maria Luisa. Unfortunately for them, she is the girl of Corrado, the son of "The President"...

A man named Leo has the ability to speak to his dog, Beo. He falls in love with a single mother named Sabrina.

After attending esoterical studies with a wise man, Cagliostro, a mysterious Italian count, received the gift of supernatural powers. He started to travel all over Europe to heal the poor. But he is also a member of a pre-revolutionary lodge the aim of which is to give freedom to the populations of Europe. This cannot be tolerated by the 18th century's establishment and bought the Pope and the regal house of France try to eliminate him. So Cagliostro is locked up in a castle, while his wife is killed. But when in 1795 the door of his cell is opened there is nothing inside but a sword...

Inspired to a true story, on November 5th 1991, Rita Atria a young 17-year-old Sicilian girl, goes to see an anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino to denounce the Mafia system that was responsible for the murder of her father and her brother. It is the first time that such a young woman from a Mafia family rebels and betrays the Mafia. From that moment on, Rita's days are numbered. She only has nine months to live...

Paris, 1418. The city is occupied by the Armagnacs, besieged by Philip of Burgundy. Caboche, a butcher's guild member and supporter of the Burgundians, wants to marry a young woman. To do so, he denounces his father, who is soon after murdered. The Grand Conétable of Burgundy also has his eye on Catherine, but will not be able to take her because Duke Philippe has fallen in love with her.

A Frenchman finds his runaway wife on an island in the Pacific.

Judy and Alex are the only two survivors of a punishment mission ordered by the rich and ruthless Moran... The girl becomes his maid and the boy is adopted by a Quaker family. Alex, in spite of the pardon philosophy taught to him, is planning a revenge.

A man, mirroring the assassinated King, infiltrates a castle to kill the Queen but hesitates, leading to a deadly dare and revelation of shared history.

The story of a nymphomaniac model with a somewhat older businessman husband.

Phillipe and Esther live an apparently idyllic life with their daughter, Elise. In an attempt to preserve this bliss, Phillipe decides that he and Esther should each have affairs, being sure to tell each other openly about them. The plan backfires with tragic results as Phillipe becomes engulfed in jealously.

An average Joe becomes the poster boy for a book about Jesus due to his Christ-like appearance, but his meek and good-hearted nature ends up clashing with the publisher's earthly-minded motives.

Loreley looks back to the happy times when she became a silent movie star with the huge success of "La Contessa Azzurra", directed by Don Salvatore and produced by Don Peppino, the owner of a Café Chantant.

Mohammed lives with his wife and five children in a house located between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement. The house becomes a highly strategic location and is occupied by the army. But despite the invasion of Israeli soldiers, Mohammed refuses to leave.

To support her family, Maria works as a trafficker of surrogate mothers, transporting them from place to place along a river — but when one disappears, Maria is left with the task of finding her and must enter deeper into a world she wishes to escape.

The Franco Zeffirelli production of Puccini's "Turandot", recorded live at the Metropolitan Opera in April, 1987. Éva Marton stars as Turandot, with Plácido Domingo as Calaf, Leona Mitchell as Liù, Paul Plishka as Timur, and Hugues Cuenod as L'Imperatore Altoum. James Levine conducts.

To avoid being sued, a film director reluctantly agrees to set up and direct the Good Friday celebrations in a small Tuscan town.

A documentary about the historic film producer, the first woman to make her mark in a predominantly male environment. A key figure in the great season of Italian auteur cinema between the late 1960s and the 1970s, Marina Cicogna worked with great directors and actors, winning an Oscar with "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" by Elio Petri and a Golden Lion with "Belle de Jour" by Luis Buñuel in Venice.

After a robbery goes wrong, Frank and Vince break into a home when two kids mistake them for their babysitters. Hoping to make them fall asleep so they can make their getaway, Frank reads stories from a magic book that he stole during the robbery, taking them to the enchanted world of Arctic Friends. The two thieves have to endure the kid’s hijinks as they make various absurd attempts to escape.

Don Felice Sciosciammocca, a poor and simple man, goes to the day, hoping that sooner or later will come the right opportunity to change his life. A nice day at Don Felice comes a parcel from a dear cousin, which contains three pairs of old trousers. Apparently only common value objects, but they will create great surprises.

An Italian businessman travels to Brazil looking for a new job. When things don't go his way, he becomes despondent until he meets a beautiful woman who reveals Rio de Janeiro's most magical, secret locales.

A sheltered Italian fashion student in London for the first time forms a intense, intimate bond with her brilliant mentor after they survive a violent robbery—forcing them to choose between ambition, boundaries, and the love they’re afraid to name.

The beautiful Camilla agrees to marry a rich landowner who has caused the ruin of her family. But beneath the conformity of the betrothal lies a terrible revenge.

A thinly-disguised biography of African leader Patrice Lumumba, here called Lalubi. Lalubi, a Christ-like leader determined to save his people, by passive resistance, from the dictatorial regime propped up by European colonialists, is imprisoned and tortured, along with a thief who comes to a greater understanding through his contact with Lalubi.

Three gorgeous seamstresses meet on the historic steps of the Piazza de Spagna in Rome to discuss one another's love lives.