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Johnny Depp’s new film Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness will close out the Rome Film Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26, and the denizens of The Eternal City can’t wait for the star to arrive.

Indeed, the highlight of an otherwise unremarkable edition of the 10-day-long fest will undoubtedly be Johnny Depp’s appearance on Saturday to present the biopic Modi, which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and chronicles three chaotic days in the life of Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.

Meanwhile, at an event that is separate from the film fest, Depp’s film will on Friday night receive the coveted Capri Cult Award.

The producer of Modi, Barry Navidi, a long-time friend of Al Pacino, will pick up the Capri prize on Friday night.

The Capri Cult Award is bestowed by the Capri Institute, the non-profit organization that organizes an annual film fest on the eponymous island.

The collection “Let's make it weird: Laughing with Italian Comedies” is now showing exclusively on Mubi.Most of us have experienced the joys of watching Italian cinema—not least of which is the delight of laughing at Italian comedies. In the second season of Mubi Podcast: Voci Italiane Contemporanee, we explore how Italian comedy has changed since the days of classic postwar “Commedia all’Italiana,” tracking the evolution of the genre to explore what makes us laugh today and why. Our guide is comedian and cinephile Saverio Raimondo, who has conducted five conversations with contemporary filmmakers, critics, and stand-up comedians. This episode features Paola Minaccioni:Does contemporary social awareness and sensitivity change the way we watch the films of Dino Risi, Mario Monicelli and Carlo Vanzina? Might we now perceive that these Italian comedy masterpieces are sexist?We discuss these questions with Paola Minaccioni, one of the leading authorities on Italian comedy,...

Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s Italian-language drama The Eight Mountains and veteran Marco Bellocchio’s Exterior Night topped the 68th edition of Italy’s David di Donatello Awards on Wednesday evening.

The Eight Mountains won best film as well as best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.

Based on the novel of the same name by Paolo Cognetti, it stars Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi as two men from different backgrounds who form a life-long bond during summers spent together as children in a remote mountain village.

The film world premiered in Competition at Cannes last year where it co-won the Jury Prize. Read the Deadline review here.

It is the second time in the history of the awards that a film by non-Italian directors has clinched the best film prize.

The last time was in 1971 when the Dino de Laurentiis-produced epic Waterloo by Russian director Sergei Bonderchuk,...

“The Eight Mountains,” Belgian directors Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s Italian-language drama about friendship, mountains and growing up, scored the top prize at Italy’s 68th David di Donatello Awards.

Besides winning best picture, the film also scooped statuettes for best non-original screenplay, photography and sound.

Given that the directors are not Italian, it was a particularly significant victory for “Mountains,” which was praised as “quietly magnificent” by Variety critic Jessica Kiang. The film, which is currently playing well on the U.S. arthouse circuit, tracks the decades-long friendship between two Italian boys named Pietro and Bruno — one from the city, the other a shepherd boy from the Alps.

“It’s pretty incredible,” commented a visibly moved Van Groeningen. “Two Belgians who win this prize in Italy for an Italian movie.” “Thank you for this declaration of love,” added Vandermeersch, his partner in life. “We love Italy very much.

Photo: 'Under The Amalfi Sun' When sitting at home on any given evening with nothing to do, nowhere to be, and no other shows to binge, one might scour the handful of streaming services to find a film that seems as if it’ll provide a pleasant experience to the viewer. They might find it on HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, or any other platform, but eventually, they’ll find it. That film may not necessarily be perfect, it may even have a handful of problems with its characters and writing, but it checks enough boxes to give the viewer a decent and relaxing ninety-plus minutes. Its vibe, tone, and aesthetic are the main appeals of the film as opposed to the structural components such as story and character. ‘Under the Amalfi Sun’ is one of those films. The new Italian Netflix rom com is...

Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed and increasingly relevant political drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, which revolves around the raucous trial of a group of protesters accused of disrupting the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention, took a leading four awards including best picture at the just concluded 25th annual Capri, Hollywood – The International Film Festival. If past winners at this Italian fest are any indication, the victories should give the Netflix film a boost stateside during Oscar season.

The DreamWorks production, originally put in motion 14 years ago by Steven Spielberg and written and directed by Sorkin, was originally set to be released by Paramount before the coronavirus pandemic turned the exhibition business on its heels and shut theaters — especially in key cities like New York and Los Angeles. It premiered on Netflix in October.

The film also took Capri awards for Sacha Baron Cohen as best supporting actor, film editing and a...

Cinema numbers are shrinking again as Covid-19 cases rise across Europe.

France, opening Wednesday October 14

It has been a complicated few days for French distributors and exhibitors following the introduction of a night-time curfew from Saturday night in Paris and eight other major cities, as part of measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.

The measure, which obliges people to return home by 9pm, effectively wipes out key evening screening slots although exhibitors are lobbying the government for a special dispensation for cinemagoers. A final decision was expected late Friday or over the weekend, but if the answer is ‘no...

Warner Bros. Pictures Italy said Thursday that it has inked a three-picture deal with the Vanzina Brothers and their International Video 80 production company. The films will be directed by Carlo Vanzina, with writing duties being shared with brother Enrico Vanzina. Warner Bros. Pictures International will hold all worldwide distribution rights. The pact marks the second collaboration between Warner Bros. and the Vanzina brothers, with their first being Febbre da Cavallo -- La Mandrakata.