Monthlong Festival of Contemporary Italian Films Begins April 4 at Pitt

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh will host a monthlong festival of contemporary Italian films, with the free public screenings running from April 4 through May 3. The festival’s seven Italian films will receive their Pittsburgh premieres.

The Italian Ministry of Culture has designated 2013 the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, and the seven films being shown at Pitt will be presented through Italian Film Festival USA, a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization that has been recognized as an official participant in this yearlong showcase of Italian culture; the film series is touring 12 sites throughout the nation.

Pitt faculty, graduate students, and alumni will provide brief introductions to each film. There will be a dessert reception following the screening of the first film, È stato il figlio (It Was the Son), on April 4.

From the story of a love triangle in fascist Italy to a documentary account of Albanian immigrants arriving in Italy, the works in the festival were chosen to display the range and vitality of contemporary Italian filmmaking.

A schedule of the films, which are in Italian with English subtitles, follows. All screenings begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Thursday, April 4
È stato il figlio (It Was the Son) (2012)
Directed by Daniele Ciprì
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Drive, Oakland

It Was the Son tells the story of a dysfunctional Sicilian mafia family. The film will be introduced by Pitt Distinguished Professor of Film Studies Marcia Landy.

Thursday, April 11
Il giorno in più (One Day More) (2011)
Directed by Massimo Venier
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Drive, Oakland

This romantic comedy follows a 40-year-old bachelor with no interest in marriage as he falls for a charming stranger and must decide whether to follow her to New York.

Thursday, April 18
La nave dolce (The Human Cargo) (2012)
Directed by Daniele Vicari
7th Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland

Through interviews with participants and contemporary news footage, The Human Cargo tells the story of the 1991 arrival of ship Vlora and its cargo—roughly 20,000 Albanian refugees—in the port city of Bari, Italy.

Friday, April 19
Terraferma (Dry Land) (2011)
Directed by Emanuele Crialese
7th-Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland

A Sicilian fishing family on the island of Linosa must weigh the costs of rescuing illegal immigrants from the sea, facing punishment from authorities and changes to their small community.

Thursday, April 25
Romanzo di una strage (Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy) (2012)
Directed by Marco Tullio Giordana
7th-Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland

Dramatizing the tragic events following the 1969 terrorist bombing of Piazza Fontana in Milan, which killed 17, Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy focuses on the mysterious death of an anarchist suspect during police questioning.

Friday, April 26
Tormenti (Torment) (2011)
Directed by Filiberto Scarpelli
7th-Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland
Set in 1930s Italy, Tormenti follows Lolli, a young laundry worker who falls in love with Rinaldo, a charming lawyer—and with Mario, a boxer and antifascist fighter.

Friday, May 3
L’industriale (The Entrepreneur) (2011)
Directed by Giuliano Montaldo
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Drive, Oakland

This gritty story of a factory owner struggling to hold on to his business and his marriage received a number of award nominations and won honors at several international film festivals.

The festival of Italian films is cosponsored by Pitt’s Film Studies Program; the Pitt Department of French and Italian Languages and Literatures; Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; Pitt Distinguished Professor of Film Studies Marcia Landy; the Italian Cultural Institute of New York; Il Pizzaiolo; Espresso a Mano; Società Dante Aligheri of Pittsburgh; Frank’s Pizzeria; Sam Patti; Debra Patti; Italia Patti; Carla Lucente, Honorary Consul of Italy in Pittsburgh; and Commissione Giovani Pittsburgh.

Visit http://italianfilmfests.org/pittsburgh.html for more details, or contact Italian professor Lina Insana at insana@pitt.edu or 412-624-6269. 

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3/29/13/mab