The Lavazza Italian film festival is about to kick off for another year. The program is jam packed with award winning Italian cinema. The choices are plenty, so here are a few of our choices for the season. 

OPENING GALA:

The Opening Night Gala will feature the Italian Golden Globes award-winning comedy LET YOURSELF GO! (LASCIATI ANDARE), directed by Francesco Amato. The film stars the phenomenal Toni Servillo as the uptight psychoanalyst Elia, whose life is upended when he becomes involved with the effervescent personal trainer Claudia (Veronica Echegui) - a woman well-versed in matters of the body but less so of the mind. As Claudia drags Elia around Rome, a series of mishaps ensue, breathing new energy into his tired and predictable life. 

INDIVISIBILI:

We were fortunate to preview one of the feature films of the program. Indivisibili follows the story of 18 year old conjoined twins Daisy and Viola played by Angela and Marianna Fontana. The girls have beautiful voices and their father presents them as a 'freak show act' at low-class Neapolitan family functions. The girls find themselves exploited with their father ultimately gambles their income away. A chance meeting with one of a doctor presents an opportunity of a lifetime and puts the sibling's unforgiving bond to the test. 

Indivisibili ventures into territory rarely seen in the cinema, and does so with understanding and sensitivity. Grounded in modern-day Napoli, but also highly imaginative, Indivisibli is a beguiling portrait of conjoined twin sisters.

TENDERNESS:
Gianni Amelio’s beautifully shot drama TENDERNESS (LA TENEREZZA) stars festival ambassador Greta Scacchi (Looking for Alibrandi), in a film loosely based on Lorenzo Moreno’s award-winning novel, The Temptation to Be Happy. In post-WWII Naples retired lawyer and proud native Bentivoglio (Renato Carpentieri in an Italian Golden Globes award-winning performance) lives alone in a palazzo, estranged from his adult children. But when a deadly blow sweeps him and his neighbour’s households away, Bentivoglio is offered a way back home to his family.

SEA DREAMING GIRLS:
 
Katia Bernardi’s SEA DREAMING GIRLS (FUNNE - LE RAGAZZE CHE SOGNAVANO IL MARE) is a joyous documentary about living carefree at any age. In the tiny Italian mountain village of Daone, a group of lively grandmothers led by the straight-talking Erminia begin planning a trip in honour of their Rododendro club’s 20th anniversary. They quickly agree on a trip to the sea, where many of their members have never ventured. But how will they raise enough money so that everyone can wiggle their toes in the surf?

EMMA:

EMMA is the new film by Silvio Soldini, best known for the 32-time award winning drama Bread and Tulips. Teo is an elusive womaniser who works as a creative in a trendy ad agency. Emma is an osteopath, blind since she was 16. When the two first meet at an event held in total darkness, Teo is mesmerized by Emma’s voice. Emma, freshly out of her marriage, is too smart to give into the illusion of Teo’s affection, but he seems like the perfect man to engage in a bit of carefree fun with. If you are in the mood for a good old Italian rom-com, then this is the film for you! 

CLOSING NIGHT:
 
Closing Night will feature a special 20th anniversary screening of the Roberto Benigni’s classic film LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA È BELLA). Benigni, Italy’s king of slapstick, plays Guido a young Jewish man married to Dora (Nicoletta Braschi); together they have a 5 year-old son (Giorgio Cantarini). When World War II breaks out, the family is transported to a death camp. Here Guido tries to shield his son from the horror by convincing him that the camp is an elaborate game, in which points are won against the guards by staying hidden and concealing fear.
 

The 18th Lavazza Italian Film Festival screens at Cinema Paradiso and Luna on SX from September 21 – October 11, showcasing a huge program of Italian cinema.