SAN FRANCISCO CELEBRATES NEW ITALIAN CINEMA

The San Francisco Film Society, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Consulate General of Italy present New Italian Cinema, a vibrant film series that celebrates Italy’s rich cinematic tradition and introduces audiences to a new generation of Italian filmmakers, November 16–23 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres. Ranging from gritty realistic drama to lighthearted comedy, this year’s films offer a cross-section of life in Italy today and one or two glimpses back at the past. New Italian Cinema includes seven new films by first-time directors, the newest releases from renowned directors Pupi Avati and the late Tonino Cervi and a tribute to up-and-coming filmmaker Francesca Archibugi.

“We are excited to welcome Italy’s next generation of filmmakers to San Francisco,” notes Roxanne Messina Captor, Film Society executive director. “Whereas the San Francisco International Film Festival offers a broad overview of world cinema, New Italian Cinema provides a unique opportunity for our audiences to explore the depth and breadth of films produced in one country.”

Opening Night, Pupi Avati and some very special guests will be on hand to entertain questions from the audience following the screening of the director’s latest film, INCANTATO, an atmospheric, sophisticated, classic romance starring Giancarlo Giannini, comedian Neri Marcorè and the luminous Vanessa Incontrada. The next night, a tribute to Francesa Archibugi featuring THE TREE OF PEARS and TOMORROW will provide the opportunity to see the work of a director who is emerging as one of Italy’s most sensitive and accomplished film artists.

Under the auspices of the New Italian Cinema Events organization in Florence, curator Mario Sesti presided over a committee comprised of Mary Lea Brandy (MoMA), Linda Blackaby (director of programming, SFFS), Barbara Corti (journalist) and Lina Wertmuller, which selected the best Italian films from Europe’s major film festivals to present in the New Italian Cinema competition. Seven first-time filmmakers, all of whom will be in attendance, will vie for the City of Florence Award, to be determined by audience vote and announced on Closing Night.

New Italian Cinema concludes with an exuberant evening of film and fine Italian cuisine. Following the screening of Tonino Cervi’s final film, ANTONIA’S RECIPES, and the Award presentation guests are invited to mingle with visiting filmmakers at the Closing Night Party featuring a buffet dinner and Italian wines.

Sunday, November 16 OPENING NIGHT

7:30 INCANTATO Enchanted (Il cuore altrove)
The latest film from the master of soft-edged nostalgia, Pupi Avati (The Story of Boys and Girls, SFIFF 1990), is the story of a bookish young schoolteacher, Nello (Neri Marcorè), who falls hopelessly in love with a strikingly beautiful and wealthy blind woman (Vanessa Incontrada). She is soon revealed to be a manipulative femme fatale, but Nello’s love is blind too. The extraordinary widescreen cinematography, the 1920s period costumes, the lush music by Riz Ortolani and Avati’s surehanded storytelling make this a perfect Opening Night film. Avati won the David di Donatello award for best director. With Giancarlo Giannini, Sandra Milo, Nino d’Angelo. (103 min., 2003)
There will be a question-and-answer session after the screening with Avati and special guests.

Monday, November 17 FRANCESCA ARCHIBUGI TRIBUTE

7:00 THE TREE OF PEARS L’albero delle pere
Archibugi’s knack for working with child actors was never used more effectively than in this drama of a 14-year-old boy, Siddhartha (Niccolò Senni), who steps into an adult’s role to save his five-year-old half-sister, Domitilla (Francesca di Giovanni). Domitilla has accidentally pricked herself with a dirty syringe while innocently poking through her heroin-addicted mother’s (Valeria Golino, in a virtuoso performance) things. Siddhartha must navigate a devious path through doctors, social workers and police so as not to expose his mother, a beautiful, well-meaning ne’er-do-well who has left a path of destruction in the lives of the two fathers and the two children who love her. (105 min., 1998)

9:30 TOMORROW Domani
In a small town in Umbria, a giant earthquake drives the residents from their homes, and makes everyone rethink their lives. The deputy mayor (Marco Baliani) is in charge of holding the town together, but just holding his own family together becomes a challenge when it seems his wife (Ornella Muti) may be falling in love with the handsome young man (Valerio Mastandrea) who finds shelter with them. Two young girls, inseparable friends, now seem to drift apart. But in the end, the rich vein of benevolence that underlies the townspeople proves stronger than the divisive forces of nature. (106 min., 2000)

Tuesday, November 18 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

7:00 BELL’AMICO U.S. PREMIERE
dir. Luca d’Ascanio
Nicola (played by the director) is depressed over losing his girlfriend and anxious over a crucial upcoming civil service exam. One day, a friend brings over Mariano (Mariano Bartolomeu), a filmmaker from Angola, to stay a few days. As a few days of hospitality turn into a few months, the parasitic houseguest from hell takes Nicola’s clothes and money. As if that weren’t enough, his obsessive nature leads him to videotape every moment in Nicola’s life. Eventually Mariano’s behavior goes too far, and becomes his downfall in this wry, comedic comment on the exploitative nature of storytellers and filmmakers. (82 min., 2003) Preceded by Playgirl, dir. Fabio Tagliavia (14 min., 2002)

9:30 NORTH CAPE Capo Nord
dir. Carlo Luglio
Four headstrong, smart-alecky boys from Naples set off for north Germany to make some easy money. When the deal goes sour, instead of returning to the security of home, they plunge northward into even more adventuresome territory: Norway. They face a rude awakening when they gradually realize that mere survival will take every ounce of hard work and determination they’ve got, learning that the life of an undocumented immigrant worker is a crucible of true friendship and character. (102 min., 2002) Preceded by Portrait of a Child (Ritratto di un bambino), dir. Gianluca Iodice (13 min., 2002)

Wednesday, November 19 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

7:00 NORTH CAPE see November 18

9:30 THE ISLAND L’isola
dir. Costanza Quatriglio
This charming coming-of-age story with its nonprofessional cast and slice-of-life immediacy lovingly observes the lives of fishermen and quarry workers on an island off the coast of Sicily, and sees a world with a rough life, but a noble work ethic. Teresa, a girl on the brink of adulthood, follows her slightly older brother, Turi, like a puppy, fascinated by the rituals of entering adulthood: working as a fisherman, drinking his first beer and developing a crush on a pretty new girl in town. Soon, Teresa gets a job and a sweetheart of her own. (103 min., 2003) Preceded by The Match (La partita), dir. Ursula Ferrara (5 min., 2002)

Thursday, November 20 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

7:00 THE ISLAND see November 19

9:30 BELL’AMICO see November 18

Friday, November 21 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

7:00 PATER FAMILIAS U.S. PREMIERE
dir. Francesco Patierno
A 30-year-old man, granted leave from prison for a few days to see his dying father, is consumed with thoughts of the past and his wayward friends who were once young and full of life. Through flashbacks he recalls senseless deaths, suicides, family violence, doomed love, acts of vengeance. He is now determined to turn revenge into redemption, if it’s not too late. This harsh look at life among juvenile delinquents from Giugliano, near Naples, stunned audiences at the Berlin Film Festival, but the truth of Patierno’s vision is compelling. (90 min., 2002) Preceded by Mud Red (Rosso fango), dir. Paolo Ameli (14 min., 2002)

9:30 RAINING COWS Piovono mucche U.S. PREMIERE
dir. Luca Vendruscolo
When young Matteo and a group of friends become conscientious objectors, they are assigned to work in a home for severely disabled persons in the outskirts of Rome. In the underfunded, understaffed hospital, with its menagerie of odd characters, they spend their time in such idealistic pursuits as inserting catheters, cleaning bedpans and tolerating the antics of a bunch of cranky misfits. The film asks, Can a group of idealistic youths make a difference? Or will they be ground down by the indifference of the system and the resigned pessimism of its victims? (92 min., 2002) Preceded by The Last One Standing (L’ultimo rimasto in piedi), dir. Ugo Capolupo (15 min., 2001)

Saturday, November 22 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

2:00 PATER FAMILIAS see November 21

4:30 RAINING COWS see November 21

7:00 I AM EMMA Emma sono io
dir. Francesco Falaschi
Emma is the picture of the modern Italian woman: assured and accomplished, beautiful, a pediatrician and member of the city council. Always the center of attention, she invites a group of friends to her house in Tuscany for a friend’s wedding. Unfortunately, Emma forgets to bring her lithium, the only thing between her and her other, manic personality. In the ensuing comedy of errors, the old adage, “In vino, veritas,” could be replaced by, “Without medication, mayhem!” Delightful, hilarious, mayhem! (96 min., 2002) Preceded by The Crooked Nose (Il naso storto), dir. Antonio Ciano (15 min., 2003)

9:30 V-MAX Velocità massima
dir. Daniele Vicari
In this unusual glimpse into small-town Italian car culture, Stefano (Valerio Mastandrea), a garage owner in Ostia, takes in an 18-year-old apprentice, Claudio (Cristiano Morroni), who turns out to be a mechanical whiz kid. Claudio’s gentle nature works not only with machines, but also with women, and he ignites jealousies in the macho world of drag racers. However, Stefano’s act of generosity turns into one of exploitation as the profligate garage owner uses the young genius as a meal ticket to success. (111 min., 2002) Preceded by In Tram, dir. Filippo Soldi (4 min., 2003)

Sunday, November 23 CITY OF FLORENCE COMPETITION

2:00 I AM EMMA see November 22

4:30 V-MAX see November 22

7:15 ANTONIA’S RECIPES Il quaderno della spesa CLOSING NIGHT
dir. Tonino Cervi
A bittersweet period drama, this was Tonino Cervi’s last film before his death in March of 2002. Living in a rural mansion in the picturesque Tuscan town of Lucca in the late 19th century, Augusto is a wealthy novelist who hires Antonia, a legendary local cook to be part of his household. When they fall in love and marry, the fiery, dark-haired beauty becomes his most ardent fan, a position difficult to sustain when adversity strikes, and it is revealed that her famous recipe book is actually a piece of creative writing itself, full of family secrets and other forbidden treasures. With Gabriele Lavia, Emanuela Muni. (96 min., 2003)

Following the film the Closing Night Ceremony presentation of the City of Florence Award.
9:30 Party (location TBA)

Advance tickets ($10 general/$8.50 Film Society and Italian Cultural Institute members/$9 seniors, students and persons with disabilities), Closing Night film, award ceremony & party ($35 general/$30 members) and Cinefilo passes ($75 general/$65 members, good for all films) are available starting October 27 for members and November 3 for the general public, online at www.sffs.org, by calling 925-866-9599, by faxing 925-866-9597 or in person at Cavalli Italian Bookstore.

New Italian Cinema Events in San Francisco is sponsored by Martini & Rossi Asti Sparkling Wine, Martini and Rossi Vermouth and the San Francisco Chronicle, and presented with the support of online partner SFGate.com and media partner Classical 102.1 KDFC.

Directors are available for interviews. If you need a photo or would like a screener tape, please contact Hilary Hart at 415-561-5022 or publicity@sffs.org.