Come early March, from the 4th through the 8th to be exact, the BFI Southbank becomes home to some of the Italian cinematic gems everyone should be craving to discover.
Every spring, there is an extra tarantella skip in my step. And that’s because my fellow Italians take over London in early March for a few days and, thanks to legendary studios company Cinecittà, the British Film Institute (BFI), along with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in London — as well as of course due to the curation of Adrian Wootton OBE, CEO of Film London — the BFI Southbank screens some yet undiscovered Italian cinema gems, along with a few masterpieces.
Among the personal highlights for this year is a digital restoration of the 1959 classic title The Facts of Murder or Un Maledetto Imbroglio, directed by Pietro Germi and starring the late, great Claudia Cardinale. I have to say when people ask me what my fave Italian films are, this one is on the top of that list. Another highlights is one of the four titles directed by a female filmmaker, the closing night film Three Goodbyes (Tre Ciotole) by the prolific Catalan film-maker Isabel Coixet, stars phenomenal Italian (underrated!) star Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano.
A lot of the films will feature Q&As following the screening and they include Coixet herself, but also Ludovica Rampoldi, who brings her A Brief Affair (Breve Storia d’Amore) to London, and also Damiano Michieletto who directed Primavera, which has UK distribution already secured through Curzon Film. Francesco Sossai will also be in town to answer questions about The Last One for the Road (Le Città di Pianura) another title that has distribution already in place for it, this one through Bulldog Film.
Last but not least on my list of much anticipated titles in London is Fuori with Valeria Golino, who stars in one of her most outstanding performances, in Mario Martone’s bravura biopic about legendary Art of Joy novelist Goliarda Sapienza.
See below for the full screening program, and purchase your tickets on the BFI website.
Wednesday 4 March
GRASSHOPPERS (Cavallette) 9 mins
followed by PRIMAVERA 110 mins
Intro and Q&A with Damiano Michieletto
Thursday 5 March
A YEAR OF SCHOOL (Un Anno di Scuola) 90 mins
Intro and Q&A with Laura Samani
HEADS OR TAILS? (Testa o Croce?) 116 mins
Intro and Q&A with Alessio Rigo de Righi
Friday 6 March
A BRIEF AFFAIR (Breve Storia d’Amore) 98 mins
Intro and Q&A with Ludovica Rampoldi
THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD (Le Città di Pianura) 100 mins
Intro and Q&A with Francesco Sossai
Saturday 7 March
ELISA 105 mins
Intro and Q&A with Leonardo Di Costanzo
FUORI 117 mins
Intro and Q&A with Mario Martone
GIOIA (La Gioia) 108 mins
Intro and Q&A with Nicolangelo Gelormini
Sunday 8 March
THE FACTS OF MURDER (Un Maledetto Imbroglio)
115 mins
Intro by Adrian Wootton
SWEETHEART (Gioia Mia) 90 mins
Intro and Q&A with Margherita Spampinato
THREE GOODBYES (Tre Ciotole) 120 mins
Intro and Q&A with Isabel Coixet