News

Cinecittà and Film at Lincoln Center’s Sophia Loren: La Signora Di Napoli

Edoardo Ponti’s The Life Ahead; Mario Mattoli’s Poverty And Nobility opposite Totò and Enzo Turco; Alessandro Blasetti’s Too Bad She’s Bad with Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio De Sica; Dino Risi’s The Sign Of Venus (Il Segno Di Venere) with Franca Valeri and Raf Vallone; Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Eleanora Brown, plus De Sica’s 1963 and Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio All’Italiana) with Mastroianni, and The Voyage (Il Viaggio) with Richard Burton; Stanley Donen’s Arabesque with Gregory Peck; Francesco Rosi’s More Than A Miracle (C’era Una Volta) with Omar Sharif; Charlie Chaplin’s A Countess From Hong Kong with Marlon Brando; Ettore Scola’s A Special Day (Una......

Marco Bellocchio’s elegant mob drama “The Traitor,” about the first high-ranking member of Cosa Nostra to break the Sicilian Mafia’s oath of silence, was the big winner at Italy’s 65th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars.

“The Traitor” scored six statuettes including best picture, director, and actor honors.

The prizes were announced – but not physically given out – during a no-frills ceremony conducted in primetime on pubcaster Rai by star host Carlo Conti in an empty studio with talents appearing in live web platform link-ups. The event served as a collective rebirth rite just when local coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly begin to lift.

“My wish is for the Italian film community to start working again,” Bellocchio, who is a revered veteran auteur, said speaking from his home, before adding: “I’m 80, and I also hope to make a few more movies.”

“The Traitor,...

Nacho G. Velilla’s Spanish comedy Fuera de Carta / Chef’s Special opened the 24th edition of the Torino Glbt FIlm Festival last night. In Chef’s Special, a highly regarded chef (Javier Cámara, above, with festival programmer Cosimo Santoro and Velilla) working at a trendy restaurant in Chueca, Madrid’s gay neighborhood, believes that life is just perfect. It doesn’t take long, however, for imperfection to knock at his door in the form of his children from a former marriage and of a hunky ex-soccer player from Argentina. The festival’s opening ceremony was hosted by actress Lucia Ocone, and featured a special appearance by veteran actress Franca Valeri. Valeri can be seen in Vittorio Caprioli’s Lions Lying in the Sun, which will be screened at Torino as part of Ferzan Ozpetek’s "Films of his life" sidebar. Eirik Andreas Sandaker (above, with programmer Ricke Merighi) presented...