Stories from Sicily

Stolzes Sizilien - Aufbruch am Ätna

July 2017 •German

Bellini and Mantegna: Renaissance Rivals

March 2019 •German

The mysterious parallel story of Italian painters Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431-1506) and Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1435-1516), brothers-in-law, public rivals and masters of the early Renaissance.

A Place of Our Own

March 2014 •Italian

Leopardi. The Infinity Poet

August 2024 •Italian

Showcases the life of Giacomo Leopardi, an Italian poet known for his melancholic verses on fleeting happiness, existentialism, and human suffering.

Siamo qui

May 2024 •Italian

Activists of the LGBTQ+ association Rain Arcigay Caserta come back living in a property given to them in concession, confiscated from the Camorra in Castel Volturno. The goal is to reconnect with the local inhabitants and propose a new idea of ​​sharing and regenerating the park.

La dannazione della sinistra - Cronache di una scissione

January 2021 •Italian

The Valley of the Jato

June 2013 •English

In the heart of Sicily, where the Mafia still rules, one man and his family-run TV station, has become the lone voice against corruption and organized crime.

Su misura

June 2010 •Italian

The documentary tells the story of how in Licata, a town in Sicily, Augustino changed his life, leaving the seminary and the opportunity to devote his life to the church and reinventing himself as Lorella Sukkiarini, a biting and provocative drag queen.

Giro 88

May 2023 •English

It created one of the most memorable days in grand tour history. Riders such as Andy Hampsten and Franco Chioccioli share their extraordinary experience of a day they'll never forget.

Negotiating Amnesia

November 2015 •English

Negotiating Amnesia is an essay film based on research conducted at the Alinari Archive and the National Library in Florence. It focuses on the Ethiopian War of 1935-36 and the legacy of the fascist, imperial drive in Italy. Through interviews, archival images and the analysis of high-school textbooks employed in Italy since 1946, the film shifts through different historical and personal anecdotes, modes and technologies of representation.

Wie ein Fluss. The Ska faces

November 2015 •Italian

Fascism in Colour

January 2006 •English

After the World War I, Mussolini's perspective on life is severely altered; once a willful socialist reformer, now obsessed with the idea of power, he founds the National Fascist Party in 1921 and assumes political power in 1922, becoming the Duce, dictator of Italy. His success encourages Hitler to take power in Germany in 1933, opening the dark road to World War II. (Originally released as a two-part miniseries. Includes colorized archival footage.)

Stelvio: Crossroads of Peace

April 2014 •Italian

Libere

April 2017 •Italian

The Devil and Father Amorth

April 2018 •English

William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman named Cristina for the ninth time. Prior to filming, Cristina had purportedly been experiencing behavioural changes and “fits” that could not be explained by psychiatry, and which became worse during Christian holidays.

Mafia and Italy: A Bloody Pact

January 2017 •English

In 1992, the anti-Mafia magistrates Falcone and Borsellino were murdered in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. For a long time, the public believed in a story of revenge. Today, a lawsuit is challenging this hypothesis. With exclusive testimonies from judges, politicians, and witnesses under protection, this film reveals several decades of incestuous links between the State and the Mafia.

The Photojournalists Covering Pandemic Life in Italy

April 2020 •English

This short documentary looks at the efforts of four Italian photojournalists covering the crisis, illuminating more of the juxtapositions created by life in the pandemic.

Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema

June 2016 •English

A documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers never heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema. With modern day interviews and archival footage, the documentary discloses the personal struggles and triumphs that classic Afro-Italian, African-American and Afro-descendant actors faced in the Italian film industry, while mirroring their struggles with those of contemporary actors who are working diligently to find respectable, significant, and non-stereotypical roles, but are often unable to do so. Blaxploitalian is more than an unveiling of a troubled history; it is a call-to-action for increased diversity in international cinema through the stories of these artists in an effort to reflect the modern and racially diverse Italy.

City of Baseball

March 2007 •English

"City of Baseball" is a documentary that explores both the past and the present of the Italian baseball league in the seaside resort of Nettuno near Rome. Through league pioneers, current players, fans, and local historians, "City of Baseball" captures the story of how the 1944 Allied invasion of Nettuno brought the American pastime to a town which embraced the sport with a passion that continues today.

Quando i tedeschi non sapevano nuotare

November 2013 •Italian