at AFI Silver
Now in its 26th year, the AFI European Union Film Showcase continues its tradition of bringing the best in European cinema to Washington audiences.
This year’s selection of more than 50 films includes award-winners, international festival favorites, local box-office hits and debut works by promising new talents, plus many countries’ official Oscar® submissions for Best Foreign Language Film.
Five Italian titles are presented at this year’s edition ( more info )
AFI EU Showcase ( all films ): CLICK HERE
IN COLLABORATION WITH
TICKET PURCHASE REQUIRED
BUY TICKETS: HERE
LOCATION
AFI Silver Theatre and
Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910
ITALIAN TITLES
Me and You
ME AND YOU [Io e te] | ( tickets )
Dates: Fri, Dec 6, 9:30PM; Wed, Dec 11, 7:10PM
Director Bernardo Bertolucci returns to the screen for the first time since 2003 with a wistful tone poem about the passions and yearnings of youth. Disaffected teen Lorenzo, pimply, sullen and self-conscious, shares a Rome townhouse with his divorcée mom. Going through the motions of preparing for a school ski trip, Lorenzo secretly stashes junk food provisions in the basement, planning to ditch the trip and enjoy his own staycation. The unexpected arrival of his older junkie half-sister Olivia (Tea Falco), in need of a place to lie low and get clean, spoils his plans for solitude, but offers the opportunity for two needy souls to connect. Official Selection, 2012 Cannes, 2013 Göteborg, Rotterdam, San Francisco Film Festivals.
DIR/SCR Bernardo Bertolucci; SCR Niccolò Ammaniti, Umberto Contarello, Francesca Marciano; PROD Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli. Italy, 2012, color, 103 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
Dormient Beauty
DORMANT BEAUTY [Bella addormentata] | ( tickets )
Dates: Sun, Dec 8, 1:00PM; Wed, Dec 11, 7:25PM
Italy’s real-life Eluana Englaro case, where a young woman injured in a car accident lived in a vegetative state for 17 years while her father fought to have the plug pulled, is the backdrop for this thought-provoking drama from Marco Bellochio (VINCERE, GOOD MORNING, NIGHT). Surveying a variety of characters and viewpoints, this multi-strand tale explores the contradictory push and pull of politics, ethics, family loyalty and love in contemporary society. Does the possibility for change exist even for those with fiercely held opinions? Starring Toni Servillo, Alba Rohrwacher, Isabelle Huppert, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio and Maya Sansa. Official Selection, 2012 Venice, Toronto, Busan and London Film Festivals.
DIR/SCR Marco Bellocchio; SCR Veronica Raimo, Stefano Rulli; PROD Marco Chimenz, Giovanni Stabilini, Riccardo Tozzi. Italy/ France, 2012, color, 115 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
Garibaldi’s Lovers
GARIBALDI’S LOVERS aka THE COMMANDER AND THE STORK [Il comandante e la cicogna] | ( tickets )
Dates: Sat, Dec 14, 12:45PM; Mon, Dec 16, 5:00PM
The latest from Silvio Soldini (BREAD AND TULIPS) is a comedic love story about two quirky individuals finding each other. Widowed plumber Leo (Valerio Mastandrea) does his best to raise his teenaged son and daughter, but is frequently at a loss, a fact he kvetches about late at night to the ghost of his deceased wife (Claudia Gerini)—whose fun-filled afterlife and I-told-you-so attitude about her husband’s tribulations provide little comfort. Into his life comes starving artist Diana (Alba Rohrwacher), who has her own baggage, but perhaps together they can share the burden. Above it all presides the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, ruminating on the sorry state of the nation, and occasionally arguing with the neighboring monuments. Official Selection, 2012 Venice Film Festival.
DIR/SCR Silvio Soldini; SCR Doriana Leondeff, Marco Pettenello; PROD Lionello Cerri. Italy/Switzerland/France, 2012, color, 108 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
Pretty Butterflies
PRETTY BUTTERFLIES [Bellas mariposas] | ( tickets )
Dates: Sun, Dec 15, 5:40PM; Mon, Dec 16, 7:15PM
Precocious, perceptive young Sardinian teen Caterina imagines she’s the star of her own reality show, narrating scenes and confiding to the camera about the chaotic life of her family. Her father collects disability and chases women; her over-worked mother turns a blind eye to much, including her older sister’s prostitution and her brother’s low-level gangsterism. Despite trying circumstances, Caterina and her best friend, Luna, are happy, footloose teens—Caterina’s running commentary being not so much an escapist fantasy life as an embrace of the one around her. Official Selection, 2012 Venice, 2013 Rotterdam, Göteborg Film Festivals.
DIR/SCR/PROD Salvatore Mereu, from the novel by Sergio Atzeni; PROD Elisabetta Soddu. Italy, 2012, color, 100 min. In Italian and Sardinian with English subtitles.
Salvo
SALVO | ( tickets )
Dates: Thu, Dec 19, 9:45PM; Sat, Dec 21, 10:00PM
The striking debut feature by writer/directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza won the Grand Prix in the Critics’ Week section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (THE BAND’S VISIT) plays a Palermo hitman, Salvo, who has a change of heart after he lays eyes on his target’s blind sister, Rita (Sara Sarraiocco). The encounter appears to have a startling effect on Rita, too. The atmospheric imagery, alternating between shadowy interiors and blazing Sicilian sunlight, is by top cinematographer Daniele Cipri, whose work can also be seen in DORMANT BEAUTY.
DIR/SCR Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza; PROD Massimo Cristaldi, Fabrizio Mosca. Italy/France, 2013, color, 104 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
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