Now in its 34th year, the AFI European Union Film Showcase continues its tradition of bringing the best in European cinema to our audiences. This year’s Showcase returns in person with a selection of 53 films from all 27 EU Member States, 11 of the top contenders for this year’s Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film and 13 U.S. and North American premieres.
Four Italian movies are part of this year’s selection: A Chiara by Jonas Carpignano, La mano di Dio (The Hand of God) by Paolo Sorrentino, Il Buco (The Predators) by Michelangelo Frommartino and Marx può aspettare (Marx can wait) by Marco Bellocchio.
LOCATION
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd
Silver Spring, MD
Proof of vaccination –or– negative Covid PCR test required for entry. Masks required. More info.
A CHIARA
Fri, Dec. 3, 9:30 p.m.; Tue, Dec. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Acclaimed director Jonas Carpignano returns to Italy’s Calabrian region to tell the story of a teenager, Chiara, who uncovers deadly secrets about her close-knit family — which, it turns out, is intimately connected to the local mafia. Carpignano weaves a gripping drama as Chiara searches for the truth about her mysteriously missing father.
DIR Jonas Carpignano
Italy/France, 2021, 121 min. In Italian with English subtitles
Special Presentation
2021 Oscar® Selection, Italy
THE HAND OF GOD [È STATA LA MANO DI DIO]
Thurs, Dec. 2, 7:15 p.m.
Hearing that soccer legend Diego Maradona has signed to play for Napoli, gawky teen Fabie and his father (Toni Servillo) are overjoyed. But fate has other plans as cinema, soccer, life and death collide. Paolo Sorrentino directs this surreal, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, which has drawn comparisons to Fellini’s AMARCORD.
DIR/SCR/PROD Paolo Sorrentino
Italy, 2021, 130 min. In Italian with English subtitles
IL BUCO
Sat, Dec. 18, 11:45 a.m.; Sun, Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m.
The solitary life of an Italian shepherd and the subterranean adventures of a team of speleologists intersect in Michelangelo Frommartino’s long-awaited followup to 2010’s LE QUATTRO VOLTE. Nearly wordless and shot with a mystical touch, it chronicles the unknown depths of life and nature, detailing in parallel two great voyages to the interior.
DIR Michaelangelo Frammartino
Italy/France/Germany, 2021, 93 min. In Italian with English subtitles
MARX CAN WAIT [MARX PUÒ ASPETTARE]
Fri, Dec. 10, 11:15 a.m.; Sun, Dec. 12, 11:00 a.m.; Mon, Dec 13, 9:15 p.m.
In this deeply personal documentary, legendary Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio explores the life and suicide of his twin brother Camillo. Incorporating a rich trove of archival footage, excerpts from his own expansive filmography and interviews with family and friends, Bellocchio looks at the complex repercussions of his brother’s death.
DIR Marco Bellocchio
Italy, 2021, 96 min. In Italian with English subtitles