The 19th Lavazza Italian Film Festival screens around the country this September exclusively at Palace Cinemas. With over 30 of the latest and greatest from Italy’s best filmmakers, there is no shortage of Italian passion, drama, romance and style for film lovers to enjoy!
Sitting at the heart of the program are our SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS which include: The 2018 winner of Best Original Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival, HAPPY AS LAZZARO, Alice Rohrwacher’s (The Wonders LIFF14) enchanting third film; and from Matteo Garrone, the director of Gomorrah comes DOGMAN – the Cannes Film Festival award-winning tale of a dog-lover in desolate Southern Italy who is driven to terrifying extremes by a violent local bully.
Strong dramas are aplenty with films from much-loved directors featuring famous faces straight from the international circuit. Actress and director Valeria Golino (Rain Man), returns with EUPHORIA, a riveting drama about two brothers forced back into each other’s lives, starring Riccardo Scamarcio (Dalida LIFF17) and Valerio Mastandrea (Perfect Strangers LIFF16 Opening Night). Acclaimed crime-drama BOYS CRY in which two boys who have always existed on the fringes of Rome’s underworld are suddenly pulled into it, is directed by the D’Innocenzo Brothers and co-stars Luca Zingaretti (LIFF guest 2016) as the mafia boss. THE GIRL IN THE FOG, based on the eponymous bestselling novel, is a gripping thriller set amid a close-knit mountain village which follows the enigmatic Detective Vogel (Toni Servillo, Let Yourself Go! LIFF17 Opening Night) as he investigates the sudden disappearance of a young girl. And a huge hit in Italy, singer Luciano Ligabue’s multi award-winning dramedy based on his album of the same name, MADE IN ITALY, stars Stefano Accorsi (Italian Race LIFF16) and Kasia Smutniak (Perfect Strangers LIFF16 Opening Night). Plus FERRANTE FEVER, a documentary about the mysterious author whose “Neapolitan Quartet” novels have attracted legions of fans worldwide. This in-depth investigation attempts to uncover not the mystery of Elena Ferrante’s identity, but what it is about her Neapolitan novels that have so captivated the world.
Italy is not only known for world-class drama and high-end filmmaking, but also for their love of outrageous comedies! This year we bring you the biggest hit comedies of the last 12 months including, MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING – based on the hit off-Broadway play, this is a chaotic, heart-warming trip to the altar as a young man travels to his conservative hometown to marry his fiancé. From the writer of Welcome to the North (LIFF12), PUT NONNA IN THE FREEZER stars Fabio De Luigi as the Tax Police’s most incorruptible officer whose world is upended when he falls for an unlikely scammer. Winner of Best Comedy at the Nastri d’Argento awards, LIKE A CAT ON A HIGHWAY sees two parents from different worlds suddenly united by a common cause: to stop their teenage children from dating one another! And LOVE & BULLETS, a 17-time international award-winner including Best Film at the Italian Academy Awards (David di Donatello), this hugely entertaining mafia musical follows a family of schemers whose latest plan is threatened by true love.
This year the Lavazza Italian Film Festival will celebrate the work of renowned and much lauded Turkish-Italian director and scriptwriter FERZAN ÖZPETEK with a special spotlight on his work including: the lush, Naples-set mystery NAPLES IN VEILS in which a medical examiner has a carnal affair with a man who later ends up at her examining table, starring Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Alessandro (I Was a Dreamer LIFF17); winner of Best Film at the 2003 Italian Academy Awards FACING WINDOWS in which Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Raoul Bova star in this tale of a woman stuck in a failing marriage and the Holocaust survivor she cares for; the 2001 Italian Golden Globe winner IGNORANT FAIRIES which follows a woman who befriends her husband’s lover after she finds out about his affair (starring Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi); and LOOSE CANNONS, one of Ferzan Özpetek’s most awarded films, Riccardo Scamarcio stars in this amiable comedy about a son’s journey home to southern Italy, to finally come out to his family.
The Lavazza Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Sydney: 11 Sept – 7 Oct, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinemas, Palace Central
Canberra: 12 Sept – 7 Oct, Palace Electric Cinemas
Melbourne: 13 Sept – 7 Oct, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Kino Cinemas, The Astor Theatre
Brisbane: 19 Sept – 14 Oct, Palace Barracks and Palace Centro
Adelaide: 19 Sept – 14 Oct, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth: 20 Sept – 10 Oct, Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX
Hobart: 18 Oct – 24 Oct, The State Cinema
www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
