Discoveries from Italy World Cinema

As a little girl, Federica fantasized about having beautiful long hair that would grow back as soon as she cut it, about never-ending cones of cotton candy and about countless adventures that took her to the far side of the world. Now a charming thirty-something-single woman, Federica's fantasies have evolved, adding lovers, stardom, and motherhood to her waking dreams, where Federica continues to press for her everyday life to be as real as the fantasies that invade her. Unfortunately, Federica's daydreams can only provide a meager distraction from the reality she faces. Her career as a successful playwright is heading south, her boyfriend is pressuring her to start a family, a former lover wishes to rekindle an old affair, her sister is barely talking to her, her brother is self-centered and her loving father is terminally ill. And as if to make matters worse, Federica is rich, too rich, and the guilt that consumes her because of it is pushing her over the edge.

A three-episode adaptation of Goethe's novel.

In this spoof of spy films, CIA agent, Kelly, is in Rio De Janeiro spying on a wealthy industrialist, David Ardonian, who secretly plans to turn the world sterile and repopulate it with his harem. UK spy, Susan Fleming, helps Kelly.

In peaceful Taigasville, the Puffins enjoy carefree days filled with arctic games, and even lazy Otto Von Walrus loves his picnics. But when a surprise snowstorm strikes, the Puffins must rally together to save their world. Otto included.

In a post-apocalyptic Texas, a band of warriors fight against a fascist regime that is trying to take control of all surviving population.

In a castle, some actors are guests of a duke. It happens that a precious chastity belt, family heritage, disappears by a thief.

Lilia Silvi stars as Carina, an orphaned little seamstress, who is in the habit of sneaking out of her window at night, and go to the theater. Once back in her small chamber, she will act out all the parts of the play she has just witnessed. Her longing is to be on the stage, and then she meets Oliva and Mirella, two sisters who share her ambition to enter the world of dance and drama. The three girls become inseparable friends, and we follow them in their aspirations to make it to the stage.

Michele and Rosario, childhood friends, grow up in Marcianise, a town in Campania where the laws of the Camorra prevail over those of the state. However, the two men have different destinies: Rosario becomes a crime boss, while Michele, after being arrested for murder and released from prison, discovers the world of boxing thanks to his trainer Sabatino (Giorgio Colangeli). Seeking a definitive change of life and emancipation, Michele moves to Berlin, where he is introduced to the underground boxing circuit.

Luì is about to receive his diploma as a scientist until Mr. S and Perfidia will try to undermine the Me against You.

The Razzi family owns a small factory of sweets in Macerata. Their desire to enlarge their business to cope with the new Unified European Market brings to a string of fatal mistakes that will ultimately doom their wealth.

Naples, 1959. Pure Mathematics professor Renato Caccioppoli, Bakunin's grandson, is a tortured soul. Recently discharged from the psychiatric hospital, left by his wife, and increasingly disillusioned with academia and the Communist Party, he lives his last days with painful detachment.

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.

Mozart and Da Ponte use the theme of "fiancée swapping", which dates back to the 13th century; notable earlier versions are found in Boccaccio's Decameron and Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. Elements from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew are also present. Furthermore, it incorporates elements of the myth of Procris as found in Ovid's Metamorphoses, vii.[10] Place: Naples Time: the 18th century

Rubina arrives in Rome from the high mountain in search of her boyfriend Carlo, who refuses to keep her word of marriage, in view of which she falsely accuses him of having raped her and the boy is imprisoned. Rubina is placed as a maid in David's house. David who has a bizarre family runs a boutique with his son Leo. She soon becomes a clerk in the store, where she conquers everyone, and marries Leo. She will have various sexual experiences. But she gets pregnant by her boyfriend who has since been released from prison.

Two racy women decide to chuck their mundane lives and go on a wild adventure.

Riko is an honest and hardworking man who can count on a group of real friends and a loving wife. Things change after he loses his job and experiences a midlife crisis.

After the release of "Nostalgia", Andrei Tarkovsky runs out his Soviet authorities permission to work abroad: he has to go back home. But he understands from the messages of some friends and colleagues that his life in Russia would be even tougher than before. So he then decides to break with Soviet authorities and, a year before the Milan Conference of 1984 during which he will announce publicly his decision, he leaves his friends that are hosting him in Rome and takes refuge in a secret location.

A coming-of-age story that follows Matias, an Argentine filmmaker in his forties, struggling with an unfinished movie inspired by his elusive first love to Alexander, a Swedish friend he met at an international school in the 90’s. Tenderness and fascination define their strong friendship, which is short-lived when Alexander is suddenly expelled back to his country, leaving young Matias with an unresolved story of undeclared emotions. 25 years later, and Matias decides to reopen Pandora’s box as he embarks on a journey to find the ending to his story by coming face-to-face with Alexander, discovering life imitating art.

Romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the fashion and television world of Rome.

Professor Bonifazi runs a luxury clinic owned by his wife.

The crew of a space ship confronts an evil galactic ruler out to rule the universe. Also known as "Escape from Galaxy 3", "Starcrash II" or "Star Crash II" dubbed in English

Corvaz is a simple and instinctive 30-year-old that works hard in his father’s vineyard and loves going around with his dog Toni. The village life is all centered around the local bar and for the men, the days
go by drinking and kidding one another until one night, the statues that decorate the village square get vandalized. The blame goes on Corvaz. While the grudge from the community rises, a punishing expedition eventually forces Corvaz to face the villagers and leave. For the others, there may be no such an alternative. The code of “rispet” that has kept them all together is now broken.

Pasquale is a policeman in Roma. During a roundup he meets Desideria. He/she is a transsexual, living together with other two trans , Gaia and Gioia. But overall Desideria is an old friend of Pasquale, they already been attending the same schools. Desideria immediately fall in love for Pasquale. But the policeman has a fiancé, Nellina, even if too far so they meet rarely. That's why Pasquale could change idea about Desideria.

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

Everything revolves around a musical theater production staged by a modest Sicilian director who has to direct young inmates at the juvenile detention center in Nisida. However, the rehearsals, the performance at the San Carlo Theater in Naples, and the real and touching events of the city alternate without any consistency.

A mechanic falls in love with a girl who aspires to become a diva.

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

Fish Osborne is a brilliant but reclusive art historian who is undergoing a mysterious transformation: he is slowly becoming a fish. As the professor’s secret unravels, Billie and other students of his begin to perceive their own identities through new lenses.

Sofia is the black sheep of her family. She is a 28-year-old gay girl who can’t help but cheat on her partner and struggles to find a stable job. She has left a little town in Calabria, her homeland in Southern Italy, to move to Milan, where she lives with her roommate Alessandro. Mauro is Sofia's brother. Reliable and loving, unlike Sofia with whom he has a troubled relationship, Mauro has never left Calabria and runs the family winery. Despite their opposite attitudes, Sofia and Mauro has one thing in common. Michela is Sofia's first and only love, but she is Mauro’s bride-to-be. When Sofia realizes that she is about to lose the woman of her life, she decides to go back home to Calabria and win back her true love. This unexpected return will break the delicate balance of Mauro and Sofia’s family and will force the two siblings to a showdown, when they will choose who they really want to be when they grow up. A story of rekindled loves, friendship, growth, and family.

Il Supplente is a 2007 Italian comedy short film directed by and starring Andrea Jublin. He plays a substitute teacher who seems to be more hormonal than his teenage class and instigates a series of crazy games in which students are marked on their ability to mimic animals. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Ignazio Panizza goes from one failure to the other until he meets a singer, Caterina, provided with an exceptional voice.

A vicious teenager tries to sabotage a naive new teacher at her high school.

Ninetto De Terenzi is a Roman who lives for the day, helping a lawyer in his intrigues and acting as a stunt double for a cheating engineer; he disapproves of the relationship his widowed mother has with a married man and is engaged to a good worker, whom she tries to betray.

The Milanese Luigi Pizzigoni, photographer, and the Neapolitan barber Peppino Avallone, resident in Milan, are opponents in the sports field. The first is a proud Inter supporter, while the second is from Napoli.

The hotel becomes a temporary shelter for different people facing different situations.

Sir Francis Hamilton, ambassador of King Charles II, sails from England to Jamaica where he has to sign a peace treaty with France. On the way to the Carribean his ship is attacked by a band of pirates, headed by the dreadfully renowned George Rackman. As soon as they discover the real identity of their prey, the predators kidnap Sir Hamilton to ask his wife a huge ransom.

Bruno Marangoni, former center-forward of Rome, has fallen into disgrace due to a series of injuries, and now lives with gimmicks and small scams. At the height of despair he decides to commit suicide but is saved by the parish priest of a village, so he decides to move to the rectory

It is Summer. It is the right time for love, especially in a most romantic place as Golfo del Tigullio. Different stories: Dorina looking for a rich lover; Clara who takes a fancy to the young Walter while her daughter Lina tries to save her; Aristarco who gave up his career to follow Ada's, but who likes Jacqueline; Renata who is offered by her husband to Ferrari to get money; Marcello who, extraditing Micheline to France, misses the train and falls in love with her.

Two families meet for a marriage that neither want, and things take a turn when the respective patriarchs fall in love.

Anita, a free Emilian girl falls in love with Salvatore, a Neapolitan bersagliere. The two would like to get married, but he drowns while bathing in the river. From that moment the woman is unable to love anyone else because, at the most beautiful, the ghost of her fiancé appears to her who, in the end, will be able to be followed in the other world.

A poetic and intimate scene-by-scene look into the filming of Tarkovsky's 'Nostalghia'.

In a post-apocalyptic future, the Italian peninsula is going through a dark moment due to a terrible energy crisis.

A documentary looking at the life and films of Francesco Rosi.

Some crazy soldiers of the Wermacht, during the second world war, fight a "particular" war against the English enlisting among their troops even Sandokan.

Le Due Croci brings us the story of Blessed Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite friar, Catholic priest, journalist and professor of philosophy. Brandsma was vehemently opposed to Nazi ideology and died in the infamous Dachau concentration camp. He has been beatified as a Martyr of the Faith.

Desiderio is a gentleman thief who steals jewelry. Without him knowing, he is hired as a manager in the jewelry store of Gabriele Bertinori, and with this position he plans to rob the place.

The daring story of two friends, with a common musical past and a future to be written.

A young girl with malformed ears uses fantasy to help her cope with classroom bullies and process the death of her father.

Loosely based upon Jack London's novels, this is a canine adventure set in the wilderness of the far North, amidst gold diggers, outlaws and children-in-distress.

After a couple of 'special squad' cops are gunned down while chasing some kidnappers, the head of the squad takes it really personally! His violent path to find the kidnappers leads him to the upper echelons of the government. Now, the powers-that-be don't want to be found out and decide it's time to kill one more cop...

A helicopter crashes in the Sahara Desert. The entire crew are killed - only a small infant miraculously survives. Emir Tafud, who has no children of his own, brings the child up as his successor. When Ben is 25 years old he decides to set off in search of his true parents. In Casablanca he meets French crook Jacquot, who takes him with him to Monte Carlo. They both actually manage to find Ben's mother Christine. She tells Ben that his father was a scientist on a secret mission to Africa. Christine wants Ben to stay in Monte Carlo and take over her firm, but Ben has his heart set on living in Belem with his adored Amina. But now Ben gradually unearths a dreadful secret: Christine's second husband François was responsible for the death of his father, who had discovered valuable minerals in the Sahara. After a bitter struggle, Ben finally succeeds in saving his homeland from Western greed.

Irene, a workaholic, is forced to re-evaluate her priorities after the suicide of her two best friends.

Fiery, dark-haired Stella, an intense auto mechanic, and nervous, blonde Eleonora are young and in love. They operate a gas station peacefully, until Eleonora's mother appears and voices her disapproval of their romance.

Don Giorgio, a handsome young priest and teacher in a convent, is involved with two lovers: Orchidea and Giulia. When he repents and vows to return to the Church, he is savagely beaten to death. Not long after, Giulia has her throat slashed. Inspector Boito falls in love with and prepared to marry Orchidea, who is also the main suspect. The key to solving the case seems to lie with an inquisitive boy called Ferruccio, who is kept locked up and drugged. He witnessed one of the murders, but will anyone believe his story?

Marco, a young Roman reporter, travels to Zaire to carry out a report commissioned by an important naturalistic magazine, but when he arrives in Africa he comes across an illicit drug trafficking.

A discontented New York family woman is unexpectedly called to Tuscany to execute her estranged mother's will. There, she must decipher visions of her forgotten childhood and confront a spectral "Lady in Red," whose dark secret unlocks a terrifying destiny.

A satire of modern society or perhaps just a funny tale for children, depending on your age, mood or liking. Recounting the adventures of the last in a line of Supermen, the film pokes fun at the processes that lie behind advertising, politics and our consumer society.

A bodyguard with split personality is hired to protect an elderly American actor sent to Italy to promote a western video game. They get on each other's nerves but eventually form a bond. He also meets a pretty social worker with problems.