XIX Edition of Italian Film Festival USA
March 24 – April 23
The Italian Film Festival USA is the largest festival dedicated exclusively to Italian film in the United States, present in 14 cities from coast to coast.
IFF USA brings you the best line-up of recent Italian cinema with films from award-winning directors, as well as debut films from exciting new talent. In addition, the 2023 edition is being presented as a hybrid version, primarily with in-person screenings in 14 cities and a few films will be available online for the audience members who are unable to attend.
March 24-April 15
April 1-23
April 3-30
April 4-12
April 6-22
April 6-27
April 7-14
April 7-22
April 11-20
April 13-May 6
April 14-23
April 22-23
“Aspromonte: Land of the Forgotten”
directed by Mimmo Calopresti
Info
In 1951 Giulia, the new school teacher from Northern Italy, arrives in Africo, a small village in the valley of Aspromonte, in the South. She has a mission: to teach standard Italian to help integrate the local children with the rest of the country.
The screening of “Aspromonte: Land of the Forgotten” will be followed by a conversation with the film-director Mimmo Calopresti. The event will be on Wednesday, April 12 at 7 ET in Detroit, MI and on Friday, April 14 at 7:30 CT in St. Louis, MO.
Watch the trailer
“Don’t Stop Me Now”
directed by Riccardo milani
Info
Giovanna maintains a low-profile, dividing her time between an apparently boring job as an accountant at the Ministry and her home life. But behind this dull façade, Giovanna is actually a secret agent, engaged in extremely dangerous and thrilling international missions.
“Never Too Late for Love”
directed by Gianni Di Gregorio
Astolfo, a retired professor evicted from his apartment in Rome, decides to move into an old noble but decrepit palace, the last remnant of his family patrimony. There he will find unexpected friendship and will get a new chance at love.
“Nostalgia”
directed by Mario Martone
After living 40 years abroad, Felice (Pierfrancesco Favino) returns to Naples and rediscovers places and codes of the city, facing a past that eats him away.
“L’immensità”
directed by Emanuele Crialese
Rome, 1970s: Clara and Felice have just moved into a new apartment. Their marriage is over: they don’t love each other anymore, but they can’t let go. It is the children who keep them together, on whom Clara pours all her desire for freedom.
“Nevia”
directed by Nunzia De Stefano
Nevia is seventeen-too old to live where she does, and grown up before she’s even had the chance to be a child. Tiny and naive, but stubborn, she and her younger sister Enza are being raised by their grandmother Nanà and aunt Lucia in a container park in Ponticelli.
“Paradise”
directed by Davide Del Degan
Info
After having witnessed an organized crime murder in Sicily, Calogero is placed in the witness protection program. With a new identity, he is sent as far away as possible—to Sauris, a tiny village nestled in the northeastern Italian Alps. But snow and weird local customs, such as the Schuhplattler folk dancing, aren’t for him.
Short Film Program
Info
Six recent short films will be presented in one short film program lasting approximately 100 minutes. Each short is preceded by a director video. The audience will vote on their favorite short favorite short.
“The Champion”
directed by Leonardo D’Agostini
Young, talented, and very spoiled, Christian Ferro is “The Champion,” a rock star of the soccer world. Valerio, lonely, shy, and burdened with financial problems, is the professor who is assigned to the young soccer star to help him pass his high school equivalency exam.
“The Innocents of Florence”
directed by David Battistella
Info
In 1410, to solve the issue of abandoned babies, Florence’s humanists built a hospital to assist young mothers. The Madonna of the Innocents became the new painted logo of the Institute. 600 years later, two women are tasked with the restoration of the work. Over the course of thirty months the painting is meticulously restored and new mysteries about its origins are discovered.
“The Invisible Witness”
directed by Stefano Mordini
Info
Adriano wakes up in a hotel room next to the dead body of his lover, Laura. The door is locked from the inside and there is no evidence of anybody else in the room. Despite his claims of innocence, Adriano is charged with murder and chooses Virginia Ferrara, a veteran criminal attorney who has never lost a trial, to decide the defensive strategy.
“The Passion of Anna Magnani”
directed by Enrico Cerasuolo
An intimate portrait of the great Italian actress Anna Magnani, a symbol of neorealism and an icon of the world’s film industry: the scene in “Roma Città Aperta,” where Anna is gunned down by the Nazis, brought the horrors of the war to cinema screens around the world and became the symbol a new genre of film: neorealism.
“Tomorrow’s a New Day”
directed by Simone Spada
Giuliano, a vivacious actor who loves life, has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. After a year-long fight, he’s decided to forgo his treatment. Tommaso, who is a teacher living in Canada, returns to Rome to help his friend tie up all the loose ends, including who will take care of Giuliano’s dearest companion, the wide-eyed Bernese mountain dog, Pato.
“Well, But Not Very Well”
directed by Francesco Mandelli
Info
Candida is a 15 years old motherless teenager. When her father loses his job, she moves to Turin with him, starts a new life, and attends a new high school. She makes friends with Jacopo, an introverted boy who’s often bullied by his classmates, and the two get along well. However, Jacopo’s father, who’s a rich industrialist, doesn’t approve of the new friendship.