Film

Known for her striking resemblance to Anna Magnani, Neapolitan actress Lucianna De Falco has ignited the imagination of modern Italian filmmakers who have played on the similarities, allowing her to interpret the style of a cinema icon. “The physical resemblance to Anna Magnani has been a constant, especially at the beginning of my career, and I was scared of it,” said De Falco in a 2019 interview with Fra Noi. “Then I started working, and about 10 years ago, I finally played her in a short film where Magnani and Bette Davis meet, titled “The Big Lie.” I won several …

Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà presented an exceptional retrospective of Sophia Loren’s work in June. “Sophia Loren: La Signora di Napoli” showcased 13 films celebrating the extraordinary body of work of the legendary actress. “I am very happy to promote this retrospective journey to celebrate Sophia Loren at Film at Lincoln Center,” Cinecittà Chiara Sbarigia said. “As we review the long gallery of unforgettable characters that she has portrayed, we give back to the audience a universal talent admired by diverse generations worldwide. The retrospective featured new restorations of films rarely seen on the big screen in the United …

A few years ago, we featured a unique collection of videos available on Vimeo that showcase the heritage of Sardinia. Accessible through the Ethnographic Institute of Sardinia’s on-demand platform, “ISRECINEMA,” the collection been updated since then. The collection includes photo essays, documentaries, short works and animated films. The platform contains the institute’s earliest works from the late 1970s as well as the most recent productions, all of which were filmed on the island of Sardinia. Some works have achieved significant acclaim, such as Paolo Zucca’s “The Referee,” which earned the David di Donatello Award for Best Short Film. One compelling …

North America’s only full-size, fully functional antique Italian organ is located at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. Built in central Italy in the mid-18th century, this remarkable organ was discovered in Florence around 1980 by a German craftsman who specialized in restoring musical instruments. It was almost taken apart and sold as pieces of home furnishings. Fortunately, the renowned Eastman School of Music, which is part of the University of Rochester, acquired the organ and restored it to its former glory. In 2005, it was installed in the Memorial Art Gallery’s Fountain Court. Featuring 600 pipes and …

A visual love letter to the culture and landscape of Sicily, Sergio Gianfalla’s documentary “Sicily in Photographs” features images captured by a few of the island’s most renowned photographers, including Angelo Pitrone, Melania Messina and Mauro D’Agati, plus the stories behind them. The film begins with the photographers talking about what first sparked their interest in the craft and then what fueled their passion to master it. We are then taken through the Sicilian countryside for a firsthand look at the natural landscape that has captured their imaginations through the years. “The calling of the lens around here has been …

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 “Mamma Roma” stars Anna Magnani as the title character, a Roman prostitute determined to change her life and give her son the opportunities she never had. She seizes the opportunity to leave her life on the streets behind when her pimp (Franco Citti) gets married and frees her from his control. Mamma then goes to the small provincial town of Guidonia to fetch her son, Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), and bring him to Rome to embark on their new life together. She buys a pushcart, finds an apartment in a nice neighborhood, and uses her connections to …

The Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted a retrospective spanning the nearly 60-year career of composer Ennio Morricone. The film series took place in December and January and featured more than 35 films with 17 new digital restorations plus 35mm archival prints. “This Ennio Morricone retrospective is the largest MoMA has ever devoted to a movie composer,” said Joshua Siegel, curator of the Department of Film at MoMA. Among the films screened were classics like Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso,” Sergio Leone’s “A Fistful of Dollars,” and “Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.” One archival treasure in the lineup was …

Francesco Patierno’s 2016 documentary “Naples ’44” was adapted from the book of the same name by Norman Lewis, a British intelligence officer stationed there during World War II. It is narrated by British film and TV star Benedict Cumberbatch. The documentary is a strong dose of reality that intermixes archival footage, old cinema clips, dramatizations and the recollections of an officer who witnessed unfathomable atrocities. Patierno’s film is informative, riveting, and at times shocking. “The inspiration to make this film came from my father,” Patierno said in a 2018 interview with Fra Noi. “One day, he told me about how …

This year’s edition of the New York Film Festival had a strong Italian flavor. The festival opened with Jim Jarmusch’s 1986 cult classic, “Down by Law,” which features a young and captivating Roberto Benigni, and closed with the North American premiere of Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” starring Adam Driver, which tells the story of auto giant Enzo Ferrari’s legendary 1000-mile race across Italy, the Mille Miglia. In between, there were icons of Italian cinema and filmmakers from the new generation, and the screenings were packed. Marco Bellocchio presented his latest film, “Kidnapped” (Rapito), which is based on a true story. Adapted …

Organizers of the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which ran Aug. 30-Sept. 9, recognized a number of legendary artists. Tributes included a film retrospective dedicated to Gina Lollobrigida, who passed away in January. One very special recognition went to director Liliana Cavani, who was awarded a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Now 90 years old, Cavani was there to receive her award and later presented her new film, “L’ordine del tempo,” which premiered out of competition. Actress Charlotte Rampling, who starred in Cavani’s 1974 devastating Holocaust drama, “Il portiere di notte” (The Night Porter), presented Cavani with the …