Screening from 20 October (with Canberra and Melbourne to follow on 17 and 19 November respectively) Palace and ST. ALi coffee have announced the full line-up for the 2021 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival. After another disrupted year, this hallmark event celebrating Italian culture, stories and language hits screens around the country just in time to provide a much-needed escape and the chance to become immersed in another world.
New cinema locations have been added for this year’s festival which will be screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Byron Bay.
The festival will open with the Australian premiere of Daniele Luchetti’s The Ties (Lacci) which opened last year’s Venice Film Festival and is a sumptuous marriage in crisis drama spanning several decades.
Closing the 2021 Festival will be the Roberto Rosselini classic Rome, Open City in a stunning 4K restoration. The film, which was conceived and directed amid the ruin of World War II in Rome, will be part of the Rossellini Retrospective presented by the Italian Cultural Institute Sydney alongside screen gems Journey to Italy, Paisan and Stromboli. In addition to this retrospective the program will also feature a celebration of classic Italian screen goddesses Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Claudia Cardinale with some of their most loved performances.
The Centrepiece selection is recent winner of the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, To Chiara (A Chiara). Jonas Carpignano’s searing drama tells the gripping story of a 15-year-old girl from Calabria, whose family life starts to unravel when she discovers her beloved father may have criminal ties.
This year’s Special Festival Presentation is acclaimed director Nanni Moretti’s latest film Three Floors (Tre piani). Featuring a tremendous ensemble cast, the film traces the disparate lives of three families who reside in the same apartment block in Rome’s stylish Prati neighbourhood.
Other highlights include:
Hidden Away (Volevo nascondermi)
Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear winner Elio Germano delivers a powerhouse performance in this multi award-winning biopic about the troubled life of celebrated artist Antonio Ligabue.
Padrenostro (Presented by MIFF)
A 10-year-old boy witnesses an assassination attempt on his father (Pierfrancesco Favino in a Venice Best Actor-winning role) in Claudio Noce’s personal drama, inspired by his own family trauma.
The Predators (I predatori)
Winner of Best New Director at the 2021 David di Donatello Awards, Pietro Castellitto’s black comedy takes aim at class antagonism in contemporary Italy when two Italian families on opposite ends of the social ladder collide.
And at selected theatres, Fellini Forward: From the Creative Genius of Federico Fellini presented by Campari. Direct from its Venice premiere, this pioneering project explores Fellini’s creative genius using new technology to emulate the works of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time in a new and unique movie set in Rome.
Tickets are on sale now. For more information visit: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
The 2021 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace screens in the following locations:
Brisbane 20 October – 14 November, Palace James Street, Palace Barracks
Adelaide 20 October – 14 November, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
Perth 20 October – 14 November, Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema
Byron Bay 22 October – 7 November, Palace Byron Bay
Sydney 27 October – 21 November, Palace Norton, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema and Palace Central
Canberra 17 November – 12 December, Palace Electric
Melbourne 19 November – 12 December, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace
Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, The Astor and Cinema Nova
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Italian Film Festival 2022 – a preview
- Win tickets to the 2023 German Film Festival
- Italian Film Festival 2020 – movie feature
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television