Once again, the Italian Cultural Institute is proud to support the 2023 edition of the Festival with a special programme. Cinema is more than entertainment; it is a form of communication that connects millions of people through the stories it tells.
This is precisely why it is one of the pillars of the cultural strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, because it links foreign audiences directly with our country, becoming a privileged means of communication, through the transmission of knowledge, preservation of history and cultural heritage, and the enhancement of human and environmental resources that stimulate economic development.
In 2023, we focus on four established directors and their latest productions. We follow Alice Rohrwacher, who once again uses death to tell truths about existence with La Chimera; Marco Bellocchio, who reaffirms his secular spirit and tackles a dark page in our history with Kidnapped; Mario Martone, who pays a sincere tribute to Masimo Troisi with Somebody Down There Likes Me; and finally Nanni Moretti, who reaffirms his vision of cinema and the world with A Brighter Tomorrow.
Angelo Gioè
Director
Italian Cultural Institute – Melbourne
Alice Rohrwacher is a writer and director born in 1982 in Fiesole, Tuscany. Highly awarded, her 2014 feature The Wonders (IFF14) won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, while her third feature Happy as Lazzaro (IFF18) was awarded Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. Premiering with success at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, La Chimera also co-stars her sister Alba.
With a prolific 50-year career, Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor Marco Bellocchio is known for The Traitor (IFF20), Good Morning, Night (2003), Vincere (2009) and Fists in the Pocket (1965). Bellocchio’s works are known for being politically engaged, exploring the social and political contradictions of Italy and its history. In 2011, Bellocchio was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice International Film Festival.
An Italian director and screenwriter, Mario Martone has directed over 30 films since 1985. Known for his Cannes Film Festival selected L’amore molesto (1995) and his Venice International Film Festival selected Noi credevamo (2010) and Leopardi (2014), two of his recent films featured in our 2022 Festival: Nostalgia and The King of Laughter. Involved in film and theatre, Martone has been the director of the Theatre of Rome since January 1999.
Born in 1953, Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. His professional movie-making career began in 1978 with Ecce Bombo, his first nationwide success and a cult Italian film. Winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or in 2001 with The Son’s Room, Moretti was the president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and has since returned to Cannes in 2021 with Three Floors and in 2023 with A Brighter Tomorrow.
Born in 1933, Liliana Cavani is a film director and screenwriter. She became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature The Night Porter and in addition to feature films and documentaries, has also directed opera. The Order of Time is her first feature film in over twenty years. At this year’s Venice International Film Festival, Liliana Cavani was presented with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Set in 1980s Tuscany, this captivating fable of lost love from Alice Rohrwacher follows a young British archaeologist who gets caught up in an international network dealing in stolen Italian artefacts.
In this personal journey into the cinema of Massimo Troisi, acclaimed director Mario Martone combines film scenes, interviews with Italian cinema stars and critics plus previously unpublished materials to explore Troisi’s life and career.
Featuring an all-star cast, Nanni Moretti’s new film direct from the Cannes Film Festival sees a movie director struggle with his relationship with his family and his latest film which is set during the USSR invasion of Hungary.
Direct from the 2023 Venice Film Festival, this all-star ensemble drama sees a group of friends meet in a seaside villa to celebrate a birthday, only to discover it may be their last reunion.