Paolo Rotondo, artistic director of the Cinema Italiano Festival, shares his Top 10 choices from the 2019 Festival programme with us.

Fellini’s 8 ½

An absolute must-see at a cinema. In terms of execution I cannot remember a more brilliant film. In image, visual ingenuity, subtlety of pace and sardonic humour, it is stunning. Breathtaking to watch.

There’s No Place Like Home

In this star-studded festival highlight, an unexpected storm strands a family gathered to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of their grandparents on the beautiful island of Ischia, Italy. The entire family is forced to live under the same roof for two days and two nights, leading to them re-hashing unresolved conflicts.

Dogman

This hotly anticipated and award-winning crime thriller from internationally heralded writer/director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah) is a hugely compelling, based-on-fact tale of a gentle dog lover driven to take a stand against a local bully. This film has won awards from all the major film festivals in nearly every category.

My Big Gay Italian Wedding

A ridiculously fun love story, guaranteed to put a smile on your face with its brazen attitude. Set primarily in stunning Civita di Bagnoregio, it is a merry comedy of matrimony as newly engaged Antonio brings his fiancé, Paolo, to his hometown to meet his headstrong parents.

Just Believe

Italian star Edoardo Leo (Perfect Strangers) co-writes and Venice Film Festival award-winner Alessandro Aronadio directs this stand-out comedy about the power of believing – in yourself!

Happy as Lazzaro

Beloved by audiences and critics at Cannes, where it was awarded Best Screenplay, Alice Rohrwacher’s beautiful, much anticipated new film is a beguiling allegory of love, loss and compassion that explores the troubled soul of Italy.

Fellini’s Roma

Travelogue, memoir and outrageous cinematic spectacle converge in this kaleidoscopic valentine to the Eternal City, composed by one of its most iconic inhabitants. Leisurely one moment and breathless the next, this urban fantasia by Federico Fellini interweaves recollections of the director’s young adulthood in the era of Mussolini with an impressionistic portrait of contemporary Rome.

Naples in Veils

The entrancing art, music and architecture of the city of Naples form a sumptuous backdrop for this mystery-shrouded thriller from Ferzan Özpetek.

Quanto Basta /As Needed

In this heartfelt all-Tuscan comedy, Arturo, a talented chef with a troubled past, is sentenced to teach a cooking class for young people. In this film, the celebration of spectacular, rural landscapes and the respect for the authentic Tuscan culinary traditions become a powerful metaphor for the need to follow the heart rather than fashionable trends.

Euphoria

Valeria Golino, the renowned Italian actress and director, follows her 23-time-award-winning debut Honey with Euphoria, an expressive tale of two brothers getting to know each other in extremis. The film premiered in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Cinema Italiano Festival, Academy Gold Cinema, June 11–20
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