Cinecittà is bringing a weekend of powerful Italian documentaries to DocHouse at London’s Curzon Bloomsbury.
Part of the legendary film studio’s efforts to present Italian culture and cinema to international audiences, the first CINECITTÀ ITALIAN DOCS will bring three acclaimed documentaries to London’s Bertha DocHouse on 24-25 June. The three films are all UK premieres, and the filmmakers will be in attendance to participate in Q&As.
The weekend is made up of the following documentary films:
UK Premiere: IL POSTO (A Steady Job) by Mattia Colombo, Gianluca Matarrese
A nominee at DMZ Docs and Hainan International Film Festival, Il Posto focuses on graduate nurses
and healthcare workers in Italy who compete for just a few vacancies in their desperate search for job
stability. Filmed largely before, but ultimately impacted by, the coronavirus pandemic, it provides a
disturbing overview of the labour market in Italy – a portrait of a tragically broken system.
Sat 24 June, 16:00 (75 mins)
UK Premiere: SVEGLIAMI A MEZZANOTTE (Wake Me Up at Midnight) by Francesco Patierno
A young woman who has recently become a mother decides to take her life by jumping from the top floor of a building. But that suicide attempt was unsuccessful, and today that young woman wants to understand. Based on an autobiographical book by Italian journalist and writer Fuani Marino, Svegliami A Mezzanotte uses intimate reflections alongside images from the Istituto Luce film archive to reconstruct the delicate and painful narrative.
Sat 24 June, 18:30 (71 mins).
UK Premiere: BELLA CIAO by Giulia Giapponesi
Dating from the 19th century, the Italian protest song Bella Ciao continues to be sung worldwide as a
hymn of freedom and resistance. Today, adaptations of the song may resonate during Turkish
opposition or Iraqi protests. It’s even gained new prominence by featuring on the soundtrack of
Spanish Netflix hit Money Heist/La Casa De Papel. The documentary film Bella Ciao recounts the
mysteries, genesis and history of the song – a patrimony of humanity in the struggle for freedom.
Sun 25 June, 15:30 (100 mins)
The festival weekend looks set to bring out Italian cinema’s devotion to documentary film making, and is sure to provide plenty of scope to a compelling and wide range of topics…
