The Lavazza Italian Film Festival will bring award-winning Italian comedies, documentaries and thrillers to Australian cities in September and October.
“For 20 years we have shared our love of cinema and Italian culture striving to present the best new films from Italy for film-lovers and Italophiles around the country," Festival Director Elysia Zeccola said.
"The best critically acclaimed and award-winning films share the spotlight with the biggest box office hits, creating an entertaining program for audiences young and old.”
Here are some of the films to look out for.
Pavarotti
Featuring footage never before seen, concert performances and intimate interviews, filmmaker Ron Howard examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
The son of a baker in Modena - the capital of sports car manufacturers and balsamic vinegar in northern Italy - Pavarotti loved to call himself a "farmer".
And even when he became the greatest star of classical music on the planet, he never stopped seeing himself as an ordinary man touched by an extraordinary gift.
Pavarotti is a US-British co-production, with CBS Films and HanWay Films as distributors.
The Vice of Hope
To support her family, Maria works as a trafficker of surrogate mothers, transporting them from place to place along the Volturno river — but when one of them disappears, Maria sets out to find her, and during this search, she opens her eyes about a world she wishes to escape.
This is the story of a difficult birth set against the backdrop of baby trafficking in Castel Volturno, an area outside Naples known for being the most lawless place in Italy.
Tomorrow's a New Day
Giuliano and Tommaso have been friends for 30 years.
Tommaso lives in Canada and is a teacher, while Giuliano stayed in Rome, where he works as an actor.
Giuliano has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and after a year-long fight, he’s decided to forgo his treatment.
Tommaso comes back to Rome to help his friend tie up all the loose ends.
Goodbyes are never easy, but they still have time to relive the good times and reflect on what makes life worth living: a beautiful friendship.
Bangla
Winner of Best Comedy Film at the Nastri d’Argento Awards 2019, Bangla, is a romantic comedy that tells the story of Phaim, a 22-year-old Muslim of Bengali origin who was born in Italy.
Phaim lives in the Roman neighbourhood of Torpignattara. He works as a steward in a museum and plays in a band with three of his friends. Performing at a gig one night, he meets Asia, a young Roman girl he falls in love with.
Phaim's is then faced with a tough choice: leaving for London with his mum, dad and sister, or staying in Rome with his old friends and the girl he loves.
Director Phaim Bhuiyan’s debut is a fresh and spirited portrait of the complications of young love caught between very different beliefs.
Let Me Introduce you to Sofia
In Let Me Introduce you to Sofia, a frazzled father finds himself in hot water as he tries to hide his daughter from his new girlfriend in this hilarious comedy-of-errors starring Fabio De Luigi and Micaela Ramazzotti.
Ordinary Happiness
After a fatal accident, Paul manages to return to Earth for 92 minutes, due to an error made in the offices of Paradise.
Spectators (and Paolo) are faced with the question: "What would you do if you still had 1 hour and 32 minutes left to live?"
Michelangelo - Endless
Michelangelo - Endless is a biographical documentary on the life and works of Michelangelo Buonarroti, produced in 2018 by Sky and Magnitudo Film, in collaboration with the Vatican Museums.
In the film, directed by Emanuele Imbucci, the spectator is led into the world of the artist (from historical reconstructions to real-life artworks) through the two protagonists, Michelangelo and Giorgio Vasari.
Vasari, a famous Italian painter, architect and writer who lived in Rome at the same time as Michelangelo, is the reliable and passionate voice telling Michelangelo's story.
Amazing Leonardo
Leonardo Cinquecento is a journey of discovery into the thought and scientific heritage of Leonardo da Vinci.
Starting from his codes, completely digitalised and analysed thanks to artificial intelligence, the documentary reconstructs how Leonardo's ideas are still valid and underpin many contemporary concepts.
The Comformist and 1900
The festival also includes a tribute to Italian director and screenwriter Bernardo Bertolucci, following his passing last November.
The Retrospective includes 1900 - the 1976 historical drama featuring an international ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda and Donald Sutherland - and The Conformist, a political thriller about a member of the secret police in Mussolini's Fascist Italy.
The Lavazza Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Sydney: 17 Sept – 16 Oct, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinemas, Palace Central
Melbourne: 19 Sept – 16 Oct, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Kino Cinemas, The Astor Theatre
Canberra: 24 Sept – 16 Oct, Palace Electric Cinemas
Brisbane: 25 Sept – 16 Oct, Palace Barracks and Palace James Street
Adelaide: 1 Oct – 23 Oct, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth: 2 Oct – 16 Oct, Palace Cinema Paradiso and Luna on SX
Hobart: 17 Oct – 23 Oct, The State Cinema
Byron Bay: 26 Sept – 13 Oct, Palace Byron Bay
The full program will be announced in August.
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