Valerio Mastandrea

Napoleon and Me

Elba island, 1814. Martino is a young teacher, idealist and strongly anti Napoleon, in love with the beautiful and noble Baroness Emily. The young man finds himself serving as librarian to the Great Emperor in exile, whom he deeply hates, yet soon begins recording Napoleon's memoirs, getting to know and learning to value the man behind the myth. Among seductions and affairs, expectations and fears, he will craft a precise portrait that nevertheless will not manage to hide a final, inevitable, disappointment.

Dog Years

Stella is a clumsy, cynical, imaginative and tormented teenage girl. After a life-changing car accident involving a dog, she convinces herself she must count her age in dog years: one year of her life counts for seven, and now that she’s turning sixteen, she is a centennial. For this reason, Stella thinks she has not much time left to live and pens a bucket list of all the things she would like to achieve before she dies.

Don't Think About It

Still an unsuccessful punk rock musician at 36, Stefano returns to his hometown in the countryside to help with his family's business.

Il pataffio

An unlikely group of soldiers and courtiers led by Marcount Berlocchio and his new bride Bernarda take possession of a distant fief. But their castle is a decrepit dump and their villagers aren't willing to be ruled.

A Perfect Day

Antonio and Emma have been separated for years, but he does not accept when Emma dates other men. Indeed Antonio proves obsessive, aggressive and intrusive, and again threatens Emma to hurt the children: little Kevin, shy and introverted, and the adolescent Valentina.

Night Bus

Valerio Mastandrea is Franz, a night bus driver on the airport route who owes a lot of money from poker debts. He's stumbled upon by the variously named Leila, a thief who has accidentally become wrapped up in a secretive blackmail deal involving the President. As the film unfolds, a secret war between factions of the Security Services, a series of confusions among the various criminal fraternities whose activites have been touched upon by the deal, and Leila's past all complicate the situation.

Palermo – Milan One Way

A mob accountant accepts to be witness for the prosecution at a trial involving Mafia higher-ups. Seven cops are tasked with escorting him and his family alive from Sicily to the courtroom in the North, but it won't be easy.

Giulia Doesn't Date at Night

Guido, an acclaimed author, leads an idyllic life with his beautiful wife and teenage daughter. But despite his seemingly perfect existence, Guido's restless search for inspiration leads him into the arms of Giulia, a charming and mysterious swim instructor, who is hiding a secret from her past.

Good morning Aman

Aman and Teodoro meet one night on a roof and start a friendship.

The First Beautiful Thing

The film tells the story of the Michelucci family, from the nineteen-seventies to the present day: the central character is the stunningly beautiful Anna, the lively, frivolous and sometimes embarrassing mother of Bruno and Valeria. Everything begins in the Summer of 1971, at the annual Summer beauty pageant held at Livorno’s most popular bathing establishment. Anna is unexpectedly crowned “Most Beautiful Mother”, unwittingly stirring the violent jealousy of her husband. From then on, chaos strikes the family and for Anna, Bruno and his sister Valeria, it is the start of an adventure that will only end thirty years later.

The Scent of the Night

A former policeman turns full-time robber and goes on a downward spiral of crime in 1970s Rome.

In campo nemico

the story of SupportoLegale

Sorry, You Can't Get Through!

Alarmed by the news that for each working Italian there's a retiree, 70-year-old Walter decides to do his part by helping "a young person who's working for him." He chooses Piero, a model worker and upstanding citizen so shy that he can't bring himself to declare his feelings for night-time street cleaner Francesca. Walter starts giving him some old-hand advice on the matter.

There's Still Tomorrow

In postwar Rome, a working-class woman dreams of a better future for herself and her daughter while facing abuse at the hands of her domineering husband. When a mysterious letter arrives, she discovers the courage to change the circumstances of her life.

A Whole Life Ahead

25-year-old philosophy major Marta faces the ugly truth for many young Italians — a complete lack of career opportunities. While babysitting for single mother Sonia, she starts to work as a telemarketer, experiencing first-hand the fanatical and exploitative rat-race culture pushed on employees while quickly rising through the ranks of the company. Around her revolve people like delusional supervisor Daniela, her womanizing boss Claudio, fragile coworker Lucio "2", and well-meaning but inconsistent union rep Giorgio.

Maximum Velocity (V-Max)

In search of purpose, 17-year-old Claudio helps easygoing mechanic Stefano build a car capable of winning a street race that could solve his financial problems, but gets himself involved with the latter's former girlfriend.

4-4-2 - Il gioco più bello del mondo

Four stories about football.

Rust

In a hot summer, the lives of the children are about to be changed forever when two girls are found raped and murdered. The children know who the suspect is but knowing that the adults will never believe them, they decide to keep quiet. When one of their friends sister disappear, they know they have to take the matter into their own hands.

Things from Another World

Maroso Golfetto, a firm manager from Veneto, is known for his frequent yelling at his employees, who are either immigrants or Southern Italians. He regularly appears on the local TV channel to denounce the evils of immigration, and his popularity extends to children. His speeches resonate more deeply with people than those of Lucia, their anti-racist schoolmistress. One morning, a miracle occurs: by invoking the help of God to rid Veneto of its immigrants, all the immigrants disappear. However, is this truly a blessing?

Tutti giù per terra

Having just moved back in with his working-class parents, twentysomething on-and-off philosophy undergrad Walter navigates turn-of-the-millennium Turin and Gen-X ennui.

Cresceranno i carciofi a Mimongo

Sergio has a degree in botanics, but cannot find a job. Then, he gets the announcement that his former girlfriend is getting married.

Viola Kisses Everybody

Three friends see their end-of-summer motorhome holiday trip hijacked by Viola, a beautiful girl on the run from both the law and violent gangsters after a robbery.

The Vanity Serum

A detective with PTSD investigates the disappearance of several junk TV celebrities who have all been guests at the same controversial talk show.

Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy

On December 12, 1969, a bomb kills 17 people at the Piazza Fontana national bank in Milan, Italy, marking the beginning of the Years of Lead. Local anarchists are scapegoated for the massacre by police and the media, but a lone prosecutor uncovers a conspiracy of far-right groups, corrupt secret services, and other interests that seek to undermine democracy.

Last Minute Marocco

Guided by the spirit of adventure and desire to escape, a group of Italian boys decide to leave secretly for Morocco, soon followed by one of their apprensive parents.

Balancing Act

Giulio suddenly finds himself having to change his life when his wife, after discovering his betrayal, asks for a separation and, suddenly, the reality around him is no longer the same. Forty years old and father of two children, Giulio is forced by circumstances to say goodbye to family and economic well-being and to study new solutions in order to stay afloat and not drown in a new poverty made of double rents and double bills to pay, solitary lunches in fourth-rate restaurants, children's wishes not to be ignored and creditors to hide from.

AD Project

A girl gets involved in the affairs of a mysterious society that supervises the activities of the aliens on Earth.

La carbonara

Cecilia is a commoner who runs an inn, where the specialty is the "spaghetti alla carbonara". Moreover, the woman is tied to the movement of young patriots, named "Carbonari", who want a united Italy, and are struggling against the power of the pope. Cecilia believes she lost her husband in a fatal accident, and has made a new lover: Fabrizio, who is also a patriot. One day the guy's saved by a monk, when he is about to be imprisoned by the soldiers of Cardinal Rivarola. The monk is the husband of Cecilia, not dead in the accident, and now he helps her to fight against the power of Rome with the Carbonari.

Amatemi

Married for most of her adult life, Nina plunges into depression after being suddenly deserted by her husband. Eventually, she'll find a way out by having multiple affairs with strangers.

The Landlords

Two construction-workers, the brothers Cosimo and Elia are hired by a famous singer to do some work on his rural mansion, before he's due to make his big career comeback-concert in his home city. It all seems like an easy enough job, but the small town community doesn't like strangers.

Abbiamo solo fatto l'amore

Working together with his friend Leo as a waiter in a dining car, Simone discovers that Silvia, a girl with whom he had a casual relationship, is pregnant and wants to keep the baby.

My Class

The ostensibly simple story of a sympathetic veteran teacher giving Italian lessons to a weekly class of diverse immigrants is given infinitely more depth and complexity by the manner in which director Daniele Gaglianone renders his story. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, truth and artifice, and between documentary and drama, Gaglianone has created a film within a film. You see the apparent artifice of Gaglianone’s crew using professionals, including the noted film actor Valerio Mastandrea as the teacher, interlinked with ‘real’ immigrant protagonists, studying the language to improve their chances of employment and of gaining a permanent residence permit. Thus in the course of the lessons there is simultaneously the painful and upsetting relation of the students’ personal stories but also humour, as they interact and share their humanity, bridging cultural differences, united in their striving to make a better life for themselves. (Source: LFF programme)

L'orizzonte degli eventi

The film is about two worlds, different and parallel, living together in the same territory: the Gran Sasso of Italy. The contact between the two realities occurs through the characters of Max, a nuclear physics researcher who works tirelessly in the laboratory located in the belly of the mountain, and the shepherd Bajram. In fact, the shepherd walks on the physicist's head but neither of them knows it. Inside the laboratory the most advanced craft of mankind is being developed, above the mountain, on the other hand, there are poor immigrants doing the oldest work in the world. Gran Sasso is, according to the director, the synthetic image of globalization.

Basette

Antonio's first day as a thief is marked by tears. During an incursion at the mall, his mother is arrested. Some 20 years later, Antonio along with his two inseparable friends, after some minor robberies, take on a post office. Things don't go as planned.

Detective per caso

Giulia dreams to become a detective since she was little. When one night her cousin dissapears, Giulia starts searching for him with the help of her friends.

Pasolini

We are with Pasolini during the last hours of his life, as he talks with his beloved family and friends, writes, gives a brutally honest interview, shares a meal with Ninetto Davoli, and cruises for the roughest rough trade in his gun-metal gray Alfa Romeo. Over the course of the action, Pasolini’s life and his art are constantly refracted and intermingled to the point where they become one.

Ogni maledetto Natale

Massimo Marinelli Lops and Giulia Colardo meet by chance in Rome and fall in love. Giulia asks Massimo to spend Christmas Eve with her family.

Adagio

Tangled up with blackmail and crooked cops, the son of a former gangster seeks out his father's old friends, who risk everything to save him.

Barbara

Aldo e Pino two layers go to Barbara to find out new sexual experiences.

Long Live Freedom

Elections are approaching and things don't look too good for the opposition. Their leader can't stand the pressure and disappears. To avoid a scandal, the upper echelons of the party concoct a risky plan: to replace him with his identical twin, a philosopher with BPD, whose eclectic ideas and direct approach unexpectedly make the party surge in the polls.

La sedia della felicità

Dino craft practice tattoos, Bruna is a beautician; their studies are facing each other. They learn of a mysterious treasure hidden in a chair that belonged to a woman now dead.

Garibaldi's Lovers

A widowed working-class father falls in love with a struggling, poor artist.

Caserta Palace Dream

The greatest dream of a unique woman, Maria, future Queen of Spain and wife of Charles King of Naples and Sicily and of a special man, the greatest architect of his time, Luigi Vanvitelli. Their Love goes beyond their own human existence and becomes real in the immeasurable beauty of the Royal Caserta Palace.

Nine

Arrogant, self-centered movie director Guido Contini finds himself struggling to find meaning, purpose, and a script for his latest film endeavor. With only a week left before shooting begins, he desperately searches for answers and inspiration from his wife, his mistress, his muse, and his mother.

Piano 17

A man is hired to place a bomb inside a high-rise building to destroy some compromising documents, but he gets stuck in the elevator with two unaware workers, while the timer on the bomb keeps ticking.

The Complexity of Happiness

Enrico is a corporate man whose job is to manipulate inexperienced scions into selling their flailing companies. His latest assignment proves more difficult than anticipated—since his target are two young siblings whose parents just died in a car accident.

Perfect Strangers

During a dinner, a group of friends decide to share whatever message or phone call they will receive during the evening, with unforeseen consequences.

Tomorrow

This ensemble drama details the friendships that grow between survivors of the 1997 Umbria earthquake. The townsfolk—adults, children and foreigners alike—deal with various issues as they try to resume normal lives in a homeless situation.

Sweet Dreams

Turin, 1969. Nine-year-old Massimo’s idyllic childhood is shattered by the mysterious death of his mother. The young boy refuses to accept this brutal loss, even if the priest says she is now in Heaven. Years later in the 90s, adult Massimo has become an accomplished journalist. After reporting on the war in Sarajevo, he begins to suffer from panic attacks. As he prepares to sell his parents’ apartment, Massimo is forced to relive his traumatic past. Compassionate doctor Elisa could help tormented Massimo open up and confront his childhood wounds…

Feeling Better

A man spends peacefully his days in hospital without too many worries. He has been hospitalized for a while but that condition seems like the best way to live his life, safe from everything and everyone, without responsibilities and problems of any kind. It feels really good in there and even if some of his ward companions feel trapped, for them he can also feel free like nowhere else. That precious routine runs smoothly until a new person is admitted to the same ward. She is a restless, angry companion, she accepts nothing of that condition, especially the unwritten rules. She is not willing to wait, she wants to leave that place better or even worse. She wants to live as she should or die, as happens to those who end up in there. He is overwhelmed by that fury, first trying to defend himself and then accepting something incomprehensible. That encounter will help him accept that if you choose to truly face your heart and your emotions, there is no possible repair.

L'anno prossimo... vado a letto alle dieci

This rollicking Italian black comedy follows the hellish, bizarre New Year's Eve night of two average guys who find themselves stumbling from one outlandish situation to the next. After being dumped by his girlfriend, a man tags along to the party his friend is attending, leading to a series of misadventures.

Under the Leaves

A man is hired by a giftshop. Soon he notices the frequent visits of a woman who stares at him from her car.

The Face of an Angel

Both a journalist and a documentary filmmaker chase the story of a murder and its prime suspect.

The Place

The fates of an apparently random group of strangers who each come into contact with a mysterious figure who they believe possesses the power to grant any wish, in return for which they must carry out a task he assigns them.

Un inverno freddo freddo

Film about the romantic involvements and every day life of four women working in the financially troubled Guya Valentina Beauty Salon.

Escort in Love

35-year-old Alice has a husband and a son. Her life seems a beautiful dream, but it soon turns out to be a nightmare. Her husband dies in a car accident and her lawyer tells her that she is on her uppers. The only way she has to earn money in a short time is by resorting to the oldest job in history.

All at Sea

Every morning, pushing the wheelchair of his mother, Maurizio along the walkway through the bush and tie him entrance to his kiosk on the beach. After being assured that his attendants, and Khaled Omar, they did a good job, going to hoist the Italian flag, which stands on top of building.

Euphoria

Matteo is a young successful businessman, audacious, charming and energetic. Ettore instead, is a calm, righteous, second grade teacher always living in the shadows, still in the small town from where both come from. They’re brothers but with two very different personalities. A dramatic event will force them to live together in Rome for a few months, bringing up the opportunity to face their differences with sympathy and tenderness, in a climax of fear and euphoria.

Little Tito and the Aliens

Professor Biondi is a depressed scientist. After his wife's death, he lives isolated from the world in the Nevada desert, near Area 51. He supposedly works on a top-secret project for the US government, but in actuality, he spends his days on the couch, listening to the sound of the Universe. His only contact with the outside world is Stella, who organizes alien-themed weddings for tourists on the prowl for extra-terrestrials. One day the Professor receives a message from Naples: his dying brother is entrusting him with his two children, so that they may live with him in America.

The King's Musketeers

In 17th-century France, the Queen brings the Three Musketeers — Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and an aging d'Artagnan — back from retirement for one last job: saving her son Louis and the whole kingdom.

Da cosa nasce cosa

italian short

Ultimo stadio

The Champions League Final, on 31st May 2001, in Rome. A football match unites men that have nothing in common with each other. The stadium becomes a modern Greek theatre, where five dramas touch one another, only to fade away in a few minutes. The main characters are, Simone, Alice, Gabriele, Pietro and Achille, all different types of people, of different ages, all looking for a place to find some peace and quiet, a taste of happiness and love, as well as someone to trust in. At the last stage people laugh, but there is always a bitter note to their laughter. And their laughter is louder and more satisfying the greater their adversity. Indeed, in the end, there is always a reason to go on, a final stage from which to rise.

Tomorrow's a New Day

When theatre actor Giuliano receives an unexpected visit from his childhood friend Tommasso, the encounter is bittersweet. This reunion is their first meeting in many years, triggered by Giuliano’s failing health and his decision to forgo treatment. Instead he is focussed on putting his affairs in order: distributing possessions, reconciling past disputes, and, most importantly, finding a home for his beloved canine, Pato. Over four days, the two men walk the streets of Rome, visiting bookshops, restaurants, veterinarians and friends, examining their lives and speculating on what the future holds.

Zora la vampira

Count Dracula trades Transylvania for Italy in search of fresh blood and Western standards of living, but finds instead his ancient love Zora, reincarnated as a young graffiti artist from the Roman hip-hop scene.

Il grande salto

Nello and Rufetto are life long friends, and also a team of criminals who dream to make the big shot and set themselves for live, being punished with bad luck.

The Players

From campy lies to sexy surprises, this collection of vignettes captures the follies of several men as they fumble with fidelity and relationships.

Diabolik

1960s, the city of Clerville. The forthcoming visit of heiress Eva Kant, who'll be bringing a famous pink diamond with her, catches the attention of Diabolik, the infallible and elusive thief whose real identity is unknown: while trying to steal the jewel, he finds himself bewitched by Eva's charm, a feeling she may be reciprocating. But the police, led by relentless Inspector Ginko, is rapidly closing in on him...

The Nest

Laborie is a high-flying officer in the French special forces. Her mission is to escort Abedin Nexhep, a godfather of the Albanian mafia. Charged with heading a wide-reaching prostitution network, this formidable criminal is due to stand trial before a European court. During the transfer, killers hired by Nexhep set up an ambush to free their boss but Laborie and her men manage to escape...

Kidz

Sara and Nicola are married and in love. Their lives seem to be perfect: they have an angelic six-year-old daughter, thriving careers and a stable marriage. The birth of their second child, which disrupts the family balance, leads to tragicomic scenarios.

Fiore

Young and in prison for theft, Daphne falls in love with Josh, another inmate. Their love story exists through secret letters and fleeting conversations.

Land of the Sons

Civilisation is coming to an end. The death of his only relative gives a feral boy the pretext to journey beyond the confines of his home environment; only by doing this will he be able to decipher his father's journal, the most valuable artefact in his legacy. This singular contribution to the post-apocalyptic sci-fi genre tells of a humanity in crisis, while at the same time conveying the adventurous spirit of adolescence.

All Human Rights for All

Collective film for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with 30 directors each helming a segment about one of the 30 articles of the Declaration.

Tutti per 1 - 1 per tutti

Now without Aramis, the Musketeers embark on a new mission.

Heartless

After a robbery gone awry, a young man breaks into an apartment and takes a wheelchair bound girl hostage.

People of Rome

Rome 2003, the camera follows citizens of Rome. Night, in a flat, a woman prepares her husband's lunch. The man takes a bus, but the camera follow another bus ... a woman cleans the mayor's office... A man interviews passengers on a bus about immigration...... the owner of a bar is racist person... a survivor woman of Holocaust remembers the Ghetto deportation... deportation that is filmed by a director... Stefania Sandrelli plays with her grand daughter in a park a man tries to seduce the bus driver...gay night life... sunrise at Piazza Navona, a noble man and a tramp are sitting together. - - - Gente di Roma is a 2003 Italian comedy mockumentary film directed by Ettore Scola. It is close to Federico Fellini's Roma. The film is dedicated to Alberto Sordi, who Scola wanted to close the film, as a noble man, but he could not film him because he died. Scola's daughters helped to co-write the script. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Rebel

The adventures of Guido Picelli, a man who was a leading light in the history of twentieth-century Italy and Europe. Guido Picelli fought untiringly for the affirmation of social justice and opposed every form of totalitarianism.

The First Day of My Life

In the exact moment they hit rock bottom, four strangers are visited by a mysterious man who gifts them a week to see how the world would be without them.

Dry

In Rome it hasn’t rained for three years and the lack of water is overturning rules and habits. Through the city dying of thirst and prohibitions moves a chorus of people, young and old, marginalised and successful, victims and profiteers. Their lives are linked in a single design, while each seeks his or her deliverance.

FABISILVESTRIGAZZÈ Il Padrone della Festa - LIVE

For their first joint album, Niccolò Fabi, Daniele Silvestri and Max Gazzè revisit the European tours they have played together when they were young and then head towards a tour in Italian concert halls. To celebrate this journey, the three artists portray their music in a live-documentary, rich of new and old songs, musical boxing matches and videos from the making-of of the album.

Working Slowly (Radio Alice)

Bologna, 1976. The paths of two aimless young friends intertwine with those of Radio Alice, a pirate radio politically aligned with the leftist student movement.

Diabolik: Ginko Attacks!

Diabolik narrowly escapes Inspector Ginko's latest trap, leaving his partner in crime Eva Kant behind. Furious, Eva offers Ginko her help in capturing him, but the former has to face first the return of an old flame of his, noblewoman Altea.

Diabolik: Who Are You?

Captured by a ruthless gang of bank robbers, foes Diabolik and Ginko find themselves facing certain death. While Eva Kant and Altea forge an unlikely alliance to rescue their lovers, Diabolik reveals his mysterious past to the Inspector.

Ladri di cinema

No-budget satire on the bleak state of Italian film industry & distribution circa late-'80s-to-early-'90s. Mercurio, a down-to-earth, perennially underseen independent filmmaker, tries to get a distribution company to release his latest movie.

The Caiman

Bruno Bonomo was a famous producer of B-movies in the ‘70s. After a long hiatus, Bonomo offers a screenplay to RAI centered on the figure of Italy’s prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, a subject so controversial that even the public television broadcaster refuses to produce it

Zeros and Ones

Called to Rome to stop an imminent terrorist bombing, a soldier desperately seeks news of his imprisoned brother — a rebel with knowledge that could thwart the attack. Navigating the capital's darkened streets, he races to a series of ominous encounters to keep the Vatican from being blown to bits.

Volonté: The Man of a Thousand Faces

A documentary exploring the life and legacy of renowned Italian actor Gian Maria Volonté, featuring insights from his colleagues, family, and never-before-seen footage, highlighting his artistic journey and political activism.

Cinque secondi

Who is that scruffy-looking guy who lives alone in the renovated stables of Villa Guelfi? He spends his days doing nothing and avoiding contact with everyone. And when he realizes that a community of young people has settled illegally in the villa and is dedicated to caring for the abandoned countryside and vineyards, he gets nervous and wants to chase them away. They are students, recent graduates, agronomists, and among them is Matilde, who was born there and worked in the vineyard with her grandfather, Count Guelfo Guelfi, as a child. They too are intrigued by this misanthropic gentleman with a mysterious past: why does he live there alone and refuse to have contact with anyone? As the seasons pass, the conflict with this community of young men and women turns into coexistence, and eventually into an alliance. And Adriano finds himself looking after, in his brusque way, the young Countess Matilde, who is pregnant by one of the young men...

Lumière! The Adventure Continues

The sequel to Lumière! L'aventure commence (Lumière! The Adventure Begins) reveals another hundred Lumière films, all immaculately restored, and aims above all to explore more deeply the history of the invention and affirmation of cinema in the world. This new feature-length film, following the great success and worldwide release of its predecessor, will confirm to audiences everywhere that the roots of the greatest and most beautiful works in the history of cinema lie in its origins, which are both profoundly French and truly international.

Carlo Mazzacurati - A Certain Idea of Cinema

Explore the life and work of acclaimed Italian filmmaker Carlo Mazzacurati, who passed away in 2014. It delves into his distinctive poetic style, blending genres, and portraying rarely seen parts of Italy with empathy and dignity.

È andata così

Cecilia, a determined mother of two with three failed relationships behind her, faces an unexpected crisis and turns to the three fathers of her children - Christophe, her first love and daughter’s father; Guido, her son’s father and former manager turned rider; and Tony, her estranged ex-husband and self-styled music manager - for support.