Eleven Films at the Italian Film Festival in November

Eleven contemporary Italian films will be screened at the 23rd MittelCinemaFest between November 7 and 15 at the Puskin and Tabán cinemas in Budapest. In addition to Italian filmmakers, audiences will also have the opportunity to meet Hungarian actress Fanni Wrochna, who stars in the film Eleonora Duse.

According to a statement sent to MTI on Wednesday by the organizers, the event organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest and Cinecitta will open with the biographical drama Fuori (‘Outside’), directed by Mario Martone, which debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. According to the story, writer Goliarda Sapienza is sent to prison for jewelry theft, where she experiences her encounter with a few young convicts as a rebirth: she rediscovers her joy of life and her desire to write.

Vermiglio - The Mountain Bride will also be screened. In the film, Pietro, a soldier hiding from World War II, seeks refuge in an Alpine village. His arrival turns the everyday life of the otherwise closed community upside down. Maura Delpero's film, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language Film category, tells a story from a female perspective about love, inner conflicts and the psychology of a village in the shadow of war.

In the documentary Under the Clouds, which won the Special Jury Prize in Venice, the Roman villas of Pompeii and Herculaneum, now submerged under water, tell of a future that once existed but has been buried by time. In the footsteps of history and underground memories, a lesser-known Naples comes to life, according to the press release.

The film Gioia mia (‘My Sweet Treasure’) will also be screened, in which Nico is forced to spend the summer in Sicily with his elderly aunt. Slowly, a deep bond develops between them. The film won the Special Jury Prize in Locarno, and Aurora Quattrocchi took home the award for Best Actress.

In the film Un anno di scuola (’A School Year’), 18-year-old Fred from Sweden finds herself in a boys' class in Trieste, where she is the only girl. She attracts the attention of three boys in particular, whose friendship is put to the test by her arrival. The film won the Lanterna Magica award in Venice, and Giacomo Covi was named best actor in the Orizzonti section.

Iddu (or Sicilian Letters), which won three awards in Venice, is also featured in the festival program. In the film starring Toni Servillo, Catello, a veteran politician, loses everything during his years in prison. When the Italian secret service asks him for help in capturing his godson, Matteo, a fugitive mafia member, Catello seizes the opportunity to make a comeback.

The Belvárosi cinema in Szeged, SE Hungary, will also screen three films, according to the announcement.