Italian Film Festival 2009
April 10-25
Washington University, Brown Hall 100

Screenings are FREE
and open to general public.
In Italian with English subtitles.
All films in 35mm.

Opening Night!

THE RIGHT DISTANCE
(LA GIUSTA DISTANZA)
Saturday, April 10
8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

Hassan, a young Tunisian mechanic, well respected for his hard work, lives a tranquil life in a small town in Northeastern Italy. Mara is a young schoolteacher, brought there by a temporary teaching job while waiting to leave for Brazil on a cooperative project. Eighteen-year- old Giovanni, an aspiring journalist, spends much time fixing an old motorbike in Hassan’s shop; and he is something more than a witness to the love story between Hassan and Mara--a story that begins in an atmosphere of unrest. The destinies of these three people intertwine in the Po River delta country.

Director: Carlo Mazzacurati
Cast: Giovanni Capovilla, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Giuseppe Battiston, Valentina Lodovini, Ahmed Hafiene, Ivano Marescotti, Roberto Abbiati, Stefano Scandaletti, Natalino Balasso
Year: 2007
Duration: 106 min.
Genre: Drama
Awards: 6 nominations

* Nominated Best Film, Best Director (Carlo Mazzacurati), Best Actress (Valentina Lodovini), Best Supporting Actor (Ahmed Hafiene), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography: David di Donatello

GIOVANNA’S FATHER
(IL PAPA DI GIOVANNA)
Saturday, April 11
5:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

Bologna 1938. Giovanna is a shy, insecure and average looking young girl. Her father, a secondary school teacher is devoted to giving her the best education, reassuring her every day of her intellectual and cultural superiority. His aim is to provide her with a great future, but everything will turn into tragedy when Giovanna becomes insanely jealous of her beautiful and generous classmate.

Director: Pupi Avati
Cast: Silvio Orlando, Francesca Neri, Ezio Greggio, Alba Caterina Rohrwacher, Serena Grandi, Paolo Graziosi, Sandro Dori, Edoardo Romano, Chiara Sani
Year: 2008
Duration: 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Awards: 3 wins & 1 nomination

* Little Golden Lion (Pupi Avati), Volpi Cup-Best Actor (Silvio Orlando), Pasinetti Award-Best Male Actor (Silvio Orlando): Venice Film Festival
* Nominated Golden Lion (Pupi Avati): Venice Film Festival

Film courtesy of RAI Trade.

BLACK SEA
(MARNERO)
Friday, April 17
8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

Gemma, a recently widowed elderly lady, and Angela, her Romanian nurse who just arrived in Italy, live together in the same house. Both alone, initially distrustful, day by day they open up to each other and discover with humor and irony that they are not so different and are no longer alone. When an unforeseen event seems to separate them, Gemma find the courage to face with Angela a trip to Romania in the desperate search of Angela’s husband. A the mouth of the Danube river they will discover, each in her own way, their own truth.

Film sponsored by the Honorary Vice Consul of Italy in St. Louis.

Director: Federico Bondi
Cast: Ilaria Occhini, Dorotheea Petre, Maia Morgenstern, Vlad Ivanov, Corso Salani, Alessandra Bedino, Vincenzo Versari, Giuliana Colzi, Teodor Danetti
Year: 2008
Duration: 95 min.
Genre: Drama
Awards: 3 wins

* Best actress (Ilaria Occhini), Ecumenical Jury Award, Youth Jury Award: Locarno Film Festival

THE WIND BLOWS ROUND
(IL VENTO FA IL SUO GIRO)
Saturday, April 18
5:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

A French shepherd, his wife, their two daughters and his goats transfer to Chersogno, a small village in the Occitan Alps. The inhabitants of the village, after a warm welcome, begin to feel uncomfortable by the presence of the new arrivals. Jealously and incomprehension prevail and coexistence becomes more difficult.

The original title, in the occitan language, is E l’aura fai son vir, because, as a character describes at the beginning of the film, “things are like the wind, sooner or later they return”.

Director: Giorgio Diritti
Cast: Thierry Toscan, Alessandra Agosti, Dario Anghilante, Giovanni Foresti
Year: 2005
Duration: 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Awards: 3 wins & 5 nominations

* Nominated Best Film, Best New Director (Giorgio Diritti), Best Producer, Best Screenplay: David di Donatello
* Nominated Best Cinematography: Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists

AT A GLANCE
(COLPO D’OCCHIO)
Friday, April 24
8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

Adrian is a provincial sculptor who is waiting for his big break in the art world. At his first art show in Rome, he meets Gloria, a young art critic who is looking for “her” artist. But another critic admires Adrian’s work: Lulli, an internationally famous art intellectual. During an important art show that could secure Adrian’s artistic career, a dark cloud threatens his future as Gloria discovers that one of his statues hides a scandalous secret.

Director: Sergio Rubini
Cast: Sergio Rubini, Riccardo Scamarcio, Vittoria Puccini, Giorgio Colangeli, Flavio Parenti
Year: 2008
Duration: 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Awards: 2 nominations

* Nominated Best supporting actor (Sergio Rubini), Best scenery: Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists

NIGHT BUS
(NOTTURNO BUS)
Saturday, April 25
8:00 pm
Brown Hall 100, Washington University in St. Louis

Leila is a young woman who exploits her charm and beauty to seduce and then rob rich men; Franz is a bored and depressed bus driver, who has a gambling habit and a sea of debt. An absurd twist of fate makes them cross paths, and from then on they must deal with all the other unusual characters in this messy situation: Titti, a threatening bully who is after Franz to collect his gambling debt; Garofano and Diolaiti, two unlikely secret service agents who are in search of a very incriminating document; and also Matera, a trusted associate of a well-known, but out of favor, politician. Franz and Leila are different, very different, nevertheless, they may succeed at making a fortune together.
Based on the book of the same name by Gianpiero Rigosi.

Director: Davide Marengo
Cast: Valerio Mastandrea, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Antonio Catania, Ennio Fantastichini, Roberto Citran, Francesco Pannofino, Anna Romantowska, Ivan Franeck, Iaia Forte, Marcello Mazzarella
Year: 2007
Duration: 104 min.
Genre: Comedy noir
Awards: 1 award & 1 nomination

* Best Original Song: David di Donatello
* Nominated Best New Director (Davide Marengo): David di Donatello