Just watch Italian cinema’s growth from 2000 to the present. It’s all here for you, condensed into 90 wonderful minutes.
2000
The first year of the millennium Marco Tullio Giordana’s I Cento Passi was submitted to the Oscars, but it was also the year of Malena and Pane e Tulipani.
I Cento Passi (The Hundred Steps)
Malena
Pane e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips)
2001
La Stanza Del Figlio was Italy’s submission to the Oscars; it won the Palme D’Or at Cannes. It was the year that Ferzan Ozpetek’s gay themed film Le Fate Ignorati made it big too.
La Stanza Del Figlio (The Son’s Room)
Le Fate Ignoranti (His Secret Life)
2002
A pretty big year for the early part of the century. La Meglio Gioventù and Io Non Ho Paura were very popular in the USA. Bellocchio’s Buongiorno Notte and Virzì’s Caterina Va in Città were both very successful. Everybody loved Crialese’s Respiro with Valeria Golino.
Respiro
2003
Every Italian film lover I know just adored La Meglio Gioventù and I Non Ho Paura.
La Meglio Gioventù (The Best Of Youth)
Io Non Ho Paura
2004
Paolo Sorrentino and Toni Servillo teamed up for the first time in Le Conseguenze dell’Amore and Non Ti Muovere with Penelope Cruz is one of my favorites of all time.
Non Ti Muovere (Don’t Move)
Le Conseguenze dell’Amore (The Consequences of Love)
2005
Romanzo Criminale is still very big in Italy, and Cristina Comencini’s La Bestia Nel Cuore was nominated for an Oscar.
Romanzo Criminale
La Bestia Nel Cuore (Don’t Tell)
2006
Every Italian American should see Nuovomondo! Giuseppe Tornatore’s La Sconosciuta was on the Academy Award’s short list.
Nuovomondo (The Golden Door)
La Sconosciuta (The Unknown Woman)
2007
Lots this year that are available in the USA. Daniele Luchetti’s Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico and Silvio Soldini’s Giorni e Nuvole are particularly beautiful.
Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico (My Brother is an Only Child)
Saturno Contro (Saturn in Opposition)
La Ragazza Del Lago (The Girl By The Lake)
Giorni e Nuvole (Days and Clouds)
2008
Now here’s a year to remember! Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah and Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo made the world sit up and take notice, but Gianni Di Gregorio’s charming little Pranzo di Ferragosto was also beloved.
Gomorrah
Il Divo
Pranzo di Ferragosto (Mid-August Lunch)
2009
Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere was called “one of the 10 best that wouldn’t win an Oscar” ; Tilda Swinton was unbelievably good in Io Sono Amore.
Baarìa
Vincere (Winning)
Io Sono L’Amore (I Am Love)
La Doppia Ora (The Double Hour)
2010
La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi and La Nostra Vita are worth noting as well. Paolo Virzì’s La Prima Cosa Bella was the Italian submission to the Oscars.
La Prima Cosa Bella (The First Beautiful Thing)
Benvenuti al Sud (Welcome to the South)
Cosavogliodipiù (Come Undone)
2011
Terraferma was submitted for an Oscar but the big news in 2011 was Checco Zalone, Italy’s biggest box office draw ever, with his film Che Bella Giornata.
Terraferma
Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope)
This Must Be The Place
Che Bella Giornata (What A Beautiful Day)
Io Sono Li (Shun Li and the Poet)
2012
Too many good choices for the Oscar submission in 2012, but Cesare Deve Morire was chosen.
Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die)
Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty)
Reality
ACAB
Diaz: Non Pulire Questo Sangue (Don’t Clean Up This Blood)
2013
Finally, and Oscar!
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty)
La Migliore Offerta (The Best Offer)
Viva La Libertà (Long Live Liberty)
Il Capitale Umano (Human Capital)
La Mafia Uccide Solo D’Estate (The Mafia Only Kills In The Summer)
Viaggio Sola (A Five Star Life)
Salvo
2014
2014 was the year of Anime Nere; it’s still winning all kinds of awards.
Le Meraviglia (The Wonders)
Smetto Quando Voglio (I Can Quit When I Want)
Un Giovane Favoloso (Leopardi)
I Nostri Ragazzi (The Dinner)
Anime Nere (Black Souls)
Hungry Hearts
2015
Three films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival!
Mia Madre (My Mother)
Il Racconto Dei Racconti (Tale of Tales)
La Giovinezza (Youth)
Noi e la Giulia (Us and the Giulia)
Latin Lover
Vergine Giurata (Sworn Virgin)
God to Italian filmmakers: “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
I Love Italian Everything 