Among the several collaborations with local cultural bodies that the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney has established, the one with Moving Story, an Australian company specialized in film distribution and entertainment, stands out. Moving Story operates in Melbourne with the Classic and Lido cinemas, and in Sydney with the Cinema Ritz in Randwick and offers, together with the ordinary programming, some film series including Europa! Europa Film Festival, a celebration of the best new releases in European cinema.
Also in 2024 the Italian Cultural Institute is supporting the Festival, which offers over 200 screenings of feature films on the bill, coming from all over Europe. In Sydney they will be screened at Cinema Ritz Randwick from 15 February to 11 March.
As part of the Festival, the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney is pleased to present Bernardo Bertolucci’s masterpiece The conformist (Il conformista, 1970) restored in 4k by the Cineteca di Bologna.
The conformist — Rome, 1938. Marcello Clerici, a fascist spy and philosophy teacher, is engaged to Giulia, a cheerful and sunny middle-class girl. He approaches the fascist secret police, who entrust him with a delicate mission, which he himself has urged: to kill Professor Luca Quadri, his old philosophy teacher and well-known political dissident who has taken refuge in France. Taking advantage of the honeymoon with Giulia, Marcello arrives in Paris, under the constant surveillance of agent Manganiello, and immediately gets in touch with Quadri who invites him to a trip in the Savoy mountains, an ideal opportunity for the homicidal ambush.
Also on the bill are tree Italian co-productions: El Paraiso (E. M. Artale, 2023), An endless Sunday (Una sterminata Domenica – A. Parroni, 2023), and the evergreen Contempt (Il Disprezzo/Le mepris, 1963, 4k restauration), by the great Jean Luc Godard and adapted from the novel by Alberto Moravia. Last but not least, on the program, is Matteo Garrone’s most recent work Io Capitano, already multiple award-winning and recently nominated for the Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. The film tells the story of the odyssey of two Senegalese teenagers to reach Europe, based on the testimonies of some people who lived the experience first-hand. Garrone’s Io Capitano will be the highlight of the Program Launch on January 28th at 3.30pm, at the Ritz Cinema, 45 St Pauls Street, Randwick.
To book for this event: https://www.ritzcinemas.com.au/events/io-capitano-europa-europa-film-festival-program-launch
Information and bookings: https://www.europafilmfestival.com.au/