Italian Film Festival

Tuesday, 11 November – 12.05pm: Gianni Versace – Emperor of Dreams (70 mins) – The growth and success of Gianni Versace: his childhood and adolescence in Reggio Calabria in the 60s, his first steps in the world of fashion. The docufilm collects a series of interviews with friends and colleagues as well as archival images of fashion shows and interviews. Director: Mimmo Calopresti; Cast: Leonardo Maltese, Vera Dragone, Antonio Oppedisano.

2.30pm: The Illusion (131 mins) – 1860. Giuseppe Garibaldi began from Quarto the adventure of the Thousand surrounded by the enthusiasm of the young idealists who had come from all regions of Italy, and with his loyal group of officers, among whom a new profile stands out, that of Palermo Colonel Vincenzo Giordano Orsini. Among the many militiamen recruited were two Sicilians, Domenico Tricò, a farmer who had emigrated to the North, and Rosario Spitale, an illusionist. Having landed in Sicily, at Marsala, the Thousand begin fighting with the Bourbon army, whose numerical preponderance is immediately evident. Under these conditions, it appears almost impossible for the general to breach the enemy defense and penetrate Palermo. But when he is almost forced to retreat, Garibaldi devises an ingenious plan. Director: Roberto Andò; Producer: Angelo Barbagallo, Paolo Del Brocco, Attilio De Razza, Giampaolo Letta; Cast: Toni Servillo, Salvatore Ficarra, Valentino Picone.

5.10pm: Chainsaw Man: The Movie Reze Arc (English sub-titled – MA 15+, 100 mins) – The growth and success of Gianni Versace: his childhood and adolescence in Reggio Calabria in the 60s, his first steps in the world of fashion. The docufilm collects a series of interviews with friends and colleagues as well as archival images of fashion shows and interviews. Director: Mimmo Calopresti; Cast: Leonardo Maltese, Vera Dragone, Antonio Oppedisano.

Wednesday, 12 November – 2.30pm: Siblings (95 mins) – Irene lives in Rome. When her mother asked, she went back to Rimini, her hometown, to take care of her autistic brother, Omar. She soon discovered that Omar knows very well what to expect from the future, but in order to achieve his dreams, he needs to be independent, which is why Irene begins a tender crash-course to teach him adult life. Director: Greta Scarano; Producer: Matteo Rovere; Cast: Matilda De Angelis, Yuri Tuci, Maria Amelia Monti.

4.45pm: Chainsaw Man: The Movie Reze Arc (English sub-titled – MA 15+, 100 mins) – The growth and success of Gianni Versace: his childhood and adolescence in Reggio Calabria in the 60s, his first steps in the world of fashion. The docufilm collects a series of interviews with friends and colleagues as well as archival images of fashion shows and interviews. Director: Mimmo Calopresti; Cast: Leonardo Maltese, Vera Dragone, Antonio Oppedisano.

7.00pm: The Tasters (123 mins) – German language film, based on Italian author Rosella Postorino’s novel and brought to the screen by Italian Director Silvio Soldini.
The film follows in the wake of young Rosa who flees bomb-stricken Berlin in the autumn of 1943 and heads to a small, isolated village near the eastern border. This is where her in-laws live and where her husband, who’s deployed on the front, has advised she take shelter until the war ends and he returns. Rosa soon discovers that this seemingly sleepy village conceals a secret: in the forest bordering the hamlet is Hitler’s headquarters, the Wolf’s Lair. Director: Silvio Soldini; Producer: Joseph Rouschop, Cristiana Mainardi, Lionello Cerri, Stefan Jäger, Katrin Renz; Cast: Elisa Schlott, Max Riemelt, Alma Hasun.