Open Roads: New Italian Cinema Opens Tonight With Two Great Films

Marina (Sabrina Ferilli) is a former B list actress that’s gotten bored with her career and has bought a restaurant, out of the closet at a young age and comfortable in her own skin. Federica (Margherita Buy), in contrast has lived most of her life in heterosexual relationships, an architect with an ex-husband and a grown son. “I’m not a lesbian”, she tells Marina, and the disdainful accent on the word lesbian is obvious. “You are the first woman I was ever attracted to.”

The last film of Claudio Caligari (who died right after editing), Don’t Be Bad tells the story of two marginalized young men, drug addicts/drug dealers in Ostia in the ’90s. Non Essere Cattivo (Don’t Be Bad) is the side of Italy the tourists don’t want to know about, but should, if they really want to know Italy.