Photo: © Hasan Can Balcioglu | Dreamstime.com
San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Film Society and New Italian Cinema Events of Florence, Italy present New Italian Cinema, November 13–17 at Landmark’s Clay Theatre (2261 Fillmore St). The five-day festival is dedicated to bringing Italy’s newest directors and films to Bay Area audiences and celebrating the country’s rich cinematic tradition.
 
For complete program information, visit sffs.org/Exhibition/Fall-Season.
 
Celebrating its 17th glorious year in San Francisco, New Italian Cinema kicks off this edition with the latest film from Silvio Soldini (Days and Clouds) and will feature a Closing Night tribute to Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place), including a screening of his new film The Great Beauty. Both filmmakers will be in attendance. Also, in honor of Sorrentino’s visit, NIC 2013 also features a close look at recent Neapolitan cinema with a three-film spotlight, highlighting one of Italy’s most complex and historically rich cities.
 
Eight terrific features by up-and-coming directors—a number of whom will be in attendance at their screenings—are featured in the City of Florence Award competition. The competing films this year include delightful coming-of-age stories, tough family dramas and insightful explorations of modern romantic relationships, as one might expect from one of the world’s most passionate countries. The City of Florence Award will be decided by audience ballot and announced at a Closing Night presentation following the 6:00 pm screening of The Great Beauty on Sunday, November 17.
 
“This year’s New Italian Cinema brings an eclectic offering of competition films along with an exciting three-film retrospective of Neapolitan cinema,” said SFFS programmer Rod Armstrong. “Bookended by new films from Silvio Soldini, who opens the festival with Garibaldi’s Lovers, and Paolo Sorrentino, whose masterful The Grand Beauty will close it out, this year’s program demonstrates without a doubt the diversity, topicality and creativity of Italian cinema.”
 
2013 has been declared the Year of Italian Culture in the United States by the Italian Ministry of Culture, and New Italian Cinema is one of more than 200 participating events taking place in more than 50 cities throughout the country this year. With a focus on research, discovery and innovation, “Italy in U.S. 2013” seeks to celebrate the influence of Italian culture on countless aspects of art and science, both throughout history and with an eye to the future. For more information visit italyinus2013.org.

Receive more stories like this in your inbox