’60s Italia is a series of 9 films dedicated to the great masters of Italian cinema of the 1960s, presented by the Sydney Cinémathèque at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 5 September to 24 October 2026.
The series opens on Saturday 5 September with La dolce vita by Federico Fellini, one of the most iconic films of a decade that would profoundly transform Italy and its image around the world. Between decadence and prosperity, desire and alienation, the series takes audiences on a journey through some of the most significant and original works of the decade.
The journey begins in the glamorous, sophisticated world of Rome portrayed in La dolce vita and the Milanese bourgeoisie of Teorema, before encountering a generation grappling with a rapidly changing world in films such as Il posto and I basilischi. The journey also extends beyond Italy, reaching Sydney with They’re a Weird Mob, Melbourne with Clay, and London with Blow-Up—demonstrating how Italian cinema and culture had already begun to cross borders and reach new audiences. The series concludes with Nine, an ironic and spectacular tribute to Federico Fellini’s cinematic universe and to the enduring fascination that 1960s Italy has continued to exert on the international imagination.
The Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney is pleased to collaborate with the Art Gallery of New South Wales in presenting two films:
- Ermanno Olmi’s Il posto (1961) — Saturday 12 September at 2.30pm, Sydney Cinémathèque, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema (1968) — Saturday 17 October at 2.30pm, Sydney Cinémathèque, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Ticketed events. Information and tickets:
Art Gallery of New South Wales – ’60s Italia
Discounts are available for friends and members of the Italian Cultural Institute using the code: IICxAGNSW
