I’ll be heading for New York next week for the best Italian film festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, June 5 – 12.
Open Roads, from the Film Society, Lincoln Center, has served as the leading North American showcase of contemporary Italian cinema for the past 13 years. This exceptionally strong and diverse edition includes the latest work from established veterans (Gianni Amelio, Roberto Andò, Daniele Luchetti) alongside promising new directors, with in-person appearances at many screenings.
This year’s lineup includes the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner, Gianfranco Rosi’s documentary Sacro GRA as well as a couple of others that premiered at Venice. I have seen almost all of the films, and I’ve reviewed most of them, but I am looking forward to the Q&As after the films, and I hope to interview a few of the directors for I Love Italian Movies.
If you are in the New York area or are traveling there for Open Roads, look for me! Say hello, have a drink with me. I’m hoping to announce a place and time for us to meet; I’ll let you know.
Here’s my plan; click on the links for my reviews.
Thursday June 5, I have tickets for two screenings, the 1:00 and the 6:30, of Daniele Luchetti’s ‘Anni Felici’ (Those Happy Years) , and I hope to go to both of them. Daniele Luchetti has been a favorite of mine, with films like ‘La Nostra Vita’ and ‘Mio Fratello è Figlio Unico’ and I want to hear everything he has to say. If all goes well, I’ll have an interview with him too.
At 4:00, I’ll be at the screening of Variabile Umana (The Human Factor) and director Bruno Oliviero will be there for a Q&A.
On Friday June 6, I’ll be there at 1:00 with Roberto Andò for his wonderful ‘Viva La Libertà‘(Long Live Freedom) starring Toni Servillo.
Later that day, I’ll be at the 3:00 screening of Sydney Sibilia’s ‘Smetto Quando Voglio’ (Sibilia will be there for the Q&A), and a 6:30 it will be Giovanni Veronesi and his latest comedy, L’Ultima Ruota Del Carro (The Fifth Wheel).
Saturday, June 7, I have only one film scheduled, but it’s a good one, Pierfrancesco Diliberto’s ‘La Mafia Uccide Solo D’Estate (The Mafia Only Kills In The Summer). Diliberto, known as Pif, Italy’s answer to Jon Stewart, will be there with his comedy that he wrote, directed, and starred in.
Sunday, June 8, I’ll be at the 1:00 screening of a film I really loved at Venice, Piccola Patria (Small Homeland), and director Alessandro Rossetto will be there to talk about it. At 6:30, I’ll get to see the Golden Lion winner another time, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro GRA.
The festival continues until the 12th, but I have a day job, so I’ll return on Monday to my husband Brian and Junior, our cat. If you see me, please say hello!
I Love Italian Everything 