From comedies to dramas, this year’s Open Roads: New Italian Cinema [2] is featuring 17 Italian films.  From May 31 until June 6, viewers will have the chance to see this exclusive lineup of contemporary selections! For the 18th edition of this festival, many of the filmmakers and a few actors will be making appearances during the showing of their films for question and answer sessions.  Sicilian Ghost Story, the winner of the David di Donatello award for Best Adapted Screenplay, will open the showcase.  

Classic and Contemporary

Open Roads will also be adding classic films into the mix by the Taviani brothers, Paolo and Vittorio [3], and Marco Ferrer [4]i.  Unfortunately, Vittorio Taviani passed away this April, but his incredible contributions to film will always be remembered.  Paolo and Vittorio’s 1982 classic, Night of the Shooting Stars, which also won the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, will be shown June 4.

Ferreri’s The Ape Woman (1962) will be presented June 5 with an introduction by Anselma Dell’Olio.  Dell’Olio is an Italian film critic and journalist who created the documentary, Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary, about Ferreri’s radical legacy which will screen before The Ape Woman.

Roundtable Discussion

The Istituto Luce Cinecittà will also be hosting a panel discussion about Italian cinema [5]. The directors, actors, and producers from some of the featured films of Open Roads will be at NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò on June 1.

Jenny McPhee [6], the Director of the Center for Applied Liberal Arts, School of Professional Studies at New York University, will be the moderator of the roundtable consisting of Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza, Filippo Luna, and Vincenzo Amato of Sicilian Ghost Story; Paolo Genovese of The Place; Roberto De Paolis of Pure Hearts; Marco Tullio Giordana of Nome di Donna; Ferzan Ozpetek of Naples in Veils; Vincenzo Marra of Equilibrium; Francesco Patierno of Diva!; Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino of­ Crater; Lucia Mascino of Stories of Love that Cannot Belong to This World; and Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo of Boys Cry.

Italian Cinema and Artistry

The Open Roads: New Italian Cinema festival is a unique, must-see event!  It is the only showcase presenting a diversity of contemporary films in North America!  Highlighting both well known, as well as up-and-coming actors, the featured films are all highly praised promising enjoyment and cinematic excellence.  Tickets are on sale now, don't miss out!

Contributers

There were many important contributors who made this event possible:

Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà. Organized by Dennis Lim and Dan Sullivan, Film Society; and by Carla Cattani, Griselda Guerrasio, and Monique Catalino, Istituto Luce Cinecittà. Special thanks to: Italian Trade Commission; Italian Cultural Institute New York; Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò—NYU; Antonio Monda.

For a list of films and times, click here>>> [7]

For more about Open Roads, click here>>> [2]