Matteo Garrone (at NYU Cantor Cinema, 36 East Eighth Street at University Place)
November 10–12, 2004

Matteo Garrone is one of the talented young Italian directors whose films take their inspiration from real events and whose work consistently exhibits the immediacy of life lived in and around contemporary Rome. Cleverly mixing documentary and fiction, Garrone’s films inhabit a no-man’s-land, raising questions about authenticity and believability—much like his characters, who seem to be looking from the outside in and who often seem too real to fit within the confines of the screen. The filmmaker takes an interest in people ill equipped for a society that is affluent yet lacks empathy and compassion. The actors’ delicate performances and the spiritual space that Garrone creates with his beautifully composed images bring to life the Roman prostitutes, illegal immigrants, and other outsiders, illuminating their quotidian struggles and dreams, and unveiling the texture of modern society in all its multifaceted splendor and misery.

For this series only, admission to all films is free at the Cantor Cinema (36 East Eighth Street at University Place). Tickets can be obtained at the venue on the day of each screening on a first-come, first-served basis.

For details about venues and screening times, visit www.nicefestival.org or consult the brochure for New Italian Cinema Events, New York, November 2004, which can be obtained from Casa Italiana, New York University, 24 West Twelfth Street.

Organized by the Department of Film and Media in collaboration with N.I.C.E. (New Italian Cinema Events).

L’Imbalsamatore (The Embalmer). 2002. Italy. Directed by Matteo Garrone. With Ernesto Mahieux, Valerio Foglia Manzillo, Elizabeth Rocchetti. Valerio, a waiter, slides through life comfortably but with few prospects for the future. Then he meets Peppino, a very short, gregarious man with a quick smile and an infectious laugh. A taxidermist and embalmer, Peppino invites Valerio to learn the trade, but Valerio soon discovers that working with Peppino requires more commitment than he had imagined. This taut atmospheric thriller with strains of black comedy—a box office smash in Italy and a highlight of the 2003 New Directors/New Films festival—captures its characters’ quiet desperation and intense emotional longing as their world becomes increasingly macabre. In Italian, English subtitles. 104 min.

Thursday, November 11, 6:00

Terra di Mezzo (Land in the Middle). 1997. Italy. Directed by Matteo Garrone. With Pascal Ahmed Maghoub, Euglen, Gertian, Barbara, Tina, Mario Colasanti. A trilogy about the daily lives of foreigners living near Rome. Told in flashback, past events, memories, and faces intertwine with the current-day bargaining, exploitation, and social tension of people separated by money and history: Nigerian prostitutes telling jokes and stories while waiting for customers; young Albanians working the black-market laborer circuit; an Egyptian gas station attendant. All are separated from their new fellow-countrymen in countless ways. In Italian, English subtitles. 78 min.

Thursday, November 11, 8:00

Estate Romana (Roman Summer). 2000. Italy. Directed by Matteo Garrone. With Rossella Or, Monica Nappo, Salvatore Sansone. In a chaotic Rome, three characters’ tragicomic adventures lead them on a search for a remote seaside resort. The lives of Neapolitan set designer Salvatore, his assistant Monica, and his landlady Rossella converge unexpectedly, and their uncertain futures become intertwined. In Italian, English subtitles. 97 min.

Friday, November 12, 6:00

Ospiti (Guests). 1998. Italy. Directed by Matteo Garrone. With Corrado Sassi, Pasqualino Mura, Julian Sota, Llazar Sota. Two young cousins, both living illegally in Italy to help their families back home in Albania, move into the flat of a phlegmatic young photographer living in a wealthy Roman neighborhood. The young boys, who greatly differ in temperament, soon follow divergent paths and friendships. But when they meet at “home,” each reflects his loneliness in the other’s perceived faults and dissimilar approach to life. In Italian and Albanian, English subtitles. 78 min.

Friday, November 12, 8:00

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