The 2008 edition of NEW FILMS FROM ITALY was met with enthusiasm by the audience, which in large numbers attended this showcase of the best new pix from Italy.
The series, organized by the American Cinematheque and the Italian Film Commission under the artistic direction of Silvia Bizio and the auspices of Cinecitta’ Holding, the Consul General of Los Angeles and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles,opened with Matteo Garrone’s GOMORRAH, the ’08 Cannes Film Festival winner of the Grand Jury Prize and last year’s Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film.
Additionally, new releases by well-known Italian filmmakers were featured: Antonello Grimaldi’s QUIET CHAOS (starring actor/writer/director Nanni Moretti); Ferzan Ozpetek’s A PERFECT DAY, and Italy’s box-office smash of the year HER WHOLE LIFE AHEAD by Paolo Virzì.
 Gomorrah |
 Her Whole Life Ahead |
 Pa-ra-da |
 Lessons In Chocolate |
New Films from Italy 2008 also featured three directorial debuts: Venice Film Festival audience favorite PA.RA.DA, helmed by Marco Pontecorvo; TALK TO ME ABOUT LOVE directed by and starring heartthrob thesp Silvio Muccino; and the multi-cultural comedy LESSONS IN CHOCOLATE, by Claudio Cupellini. The showcase wrapped with Michele Soavi’s BLOOD OF THE LOSERS, about the conflict between Fascists and Partisans at the end of WWII in Italy.
The series opened on November 11 with a sold-out presentation of GOMORRAH, a highly dramatic and mesmerizing look at Southern Italy’s infamous Camorra organized crimes. The film’s screening at the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theater was introduced by the director himself, Garrone, who described the film as “a vehicle to help the audiences to better understand what was and is still going socially and econimically in the Naples area.”
 Director Matteo Garrone and Producer Domenico Procacci and at the opening of Gomorrah |
 Artistic Director Silvia Bizio and Director Oliver Stone at the opening of Gomorrah - Ago restaurant |
Among Hollywood’s celebrities attending the event were directors Oliver Stone, Taylor Hackford, Paul Mazursky, Patricia Riggen, and actors Vincent Spano, Seymour Cassel, Andy Garcia and Haaz Sleiman.
The Italian Ministry of Culture was once again a main supporter of a small yearly “festival” that enjoyed a strong response from specialized audience, common filmgoers, critics, scholars and students as well as respected members of the Hollywood community in Los Angeles.
