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12 – 22 November 2024
PECHINO | SUZHOU
Last year, Italian Screens was introduced in Beijing, presenting the film Aqua e Anice, starring the legendary Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli, to audiences at the China Film Archive, where it received high acclaim.
This year’s edition will return to Beijng from November 12 to November 22, 2024, showcasing six new works from the Italian film industry: There’s Still Tomorrow, Gloria!, Kidnapped, A Brighter Tomorrow, Trust, and Thank You Guys. This selection brings together celebrated works from both emerging filmmakers and seasoned directors.
The program will also travel south to Suzhou soon, offering audiences a chance to experience these fresh Italian releases.
There’s Still Tomorrow (2023), written, directed, and starring Paola Cortellesi, will open the program. This film tells a story of postwar female liberation with a lighthearted tone and solid storytelling. It has won multiple awards in Italy and recently received the Audience Favorite award in the Premiere section at the Pingyao International Film Festival. With a Douban rating soaring to 8.9, it’s considered an unmissable Italian release of the year.
Trust (2024), directed by Daniele Luchetti, is another recent Italian film that has received praise. Combining romance and suspense, it showcases impressive storytelling and visual language and was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival’s competition. A highlight of the film is the original music by Radiohead’s lead singer, Thom Yorke.
Gloria! (2024) is another film that emphasizes sound and music. Directed by Margherita Vicario, a musician and recording artist, this debut feature tells the story of a girls’ orchestra in a boarding school and was selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. The film boldly combines pop music with an 18th-century setting, creating a striking contrast in its audiovisual elements.
Marco Bellocchio, now in his seventies, recently released Kidnapped (2023), a masterful work that explores the values of religion, faith, humanity, and family ties through a kidnapping case involving the Catholic Church and a Jewish family. Far from showing signs of age, this film is bold and incisive, having been nominated for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival and for Best Foreign Film at the César Awards in France.
Nanni Moretti has maintained a steady creative pace in recent years, and his latest work, A Brighter Tomorrow (2023), which competed in Cannes’ main competition, reflects his ongoing social reflection and tender portrayal of family. This “meta-film” stars Moretti as a middle-aged director balancing his tumultuous family life and a film set. Known for his Felliniesque introspection, Moretti bares his soul as a filmmaker, leaving audiences both laughing and moved.
Riccardo Milani, who served as Moretti’s assistant director on Dear Diary, is skilled in popular genres. His new work, Thank You Guys (2023), tells the story of a struggling actor leading a group of inmates in a performance of Waiting for Godot. With humor and depth, the film offers a masterclass in Italian comedy and was well-received at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival.
The Italian Screens initiative was jointly launched by the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual (DGCA-MiC) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and is organized by Cinecittà.
