Seventh Annual New Italian Film Festival – MINE VAGANTI (LOOSE CANNONS), IO, LORO E LARA (ME, THEM AND LARA), LA PRIMA COSA BELLA (THE FIRST BEAUTIFUL THING)

Screening of six recently produced Italian films. Guest filmmakers will offer remarks and conduct Q&A sessions. Free and open to the public.

Saturday:
2:00 pm:
MINE VAGANTI (LOOSE CANNONS) 2009, 108 min. Directed by Ferzan Orzpetek. 
Cast:  Nicola Grimaudo, Riccardo Scarmarcio
Tommaso has a comfortable life in Rome as an aspiring writer and a steady relationship with his boyfriend Marco—a life he has kept secret from his family. So when he's called back to his hometown of Lecce in Italy's deep south to help run the family pasta business, he decides to finally reveal his homosexuality to his conservative family and hopefully get out of his business obligations in the process. But when his plans are thwarted by his brother, Tommaso gets stuck on the path that he was desperately trying to avoid.

4:00 pm: 
IO, LORO E LARA (ME, THEM AND LARA), 2010, 115 min. Directed by Carlo Verdone. Cast: Carlo Verdone, Laura Chiatti, Angela Finocchiaro, Anna Bonaiuto, Marco Giallini.  Father Carlo returns home after some years spent in Africa in a humanitarian mission after a faith crisis. Instead of getting the expected peace of mind with the help of his family, he'll face their innumerable problems: for instance, his father has married a Moldavian woman much younger than him,  and Carlo's brothers are worried about the heritage. A twist of fate delivers the enigmatic and seductive Lara (the radiant Laura Chiatti) into their lives triggering a series of mix-ups that the family must resolve.

6:00 pm:
LA PRIMA COSA BELLA (THE FIRST BEAUTIFUL THING) 2010,122 min. Directed by Paolo Virzì. Micaela Ramazzotti, Paolo Ruffini, Valerio Mastandrea. Nine-year-old Bruno cringes when his mother is crowned beauty queen in a seedy Livorno bathhouse. Years later Bruno has as little contact with his family as possible-until he gets a message that his mother wants to see him one last time. Director Paolo Virzì (Caterina in the City) finds just the right tone, perching his story between family tragedy and wry, almost absurdist comedy.

Center for Italian Studies
Phone: (631) 632-7444
jfusco@italianstudies.org