Simona Ventura

During February of 2020, a tragedy began that struck, as the first Western nation, Italy, and then went on to devastate the rest of world—the Covid-19 pandemic. So many images come to mind at the mere mention of this terrible virus, but one, above all, mercilessly describes those moments, symptomatic of a wound that will indelibly remain sealed in our collective consciousness—the coffins squeezed to capacity into military trucks in Bergamo. The whole area around the city of Bergamo was truly put to the test, there isn’t one family that wasn’t struck by the virus, the sound of ambulance sirens blared more than in any other city and the fear was so tangible that you could see it in the eyes of the inhabitants. However, this story is not about the hospital itself but about the people who promised, working day and night, that this miracle would come to pass. 7 days and, thanks to the Alpini, Bergamo can finally breathe again.

In a country where bella figura is a national pastime, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the maestro of media manipulation. Having risen to political primacy with the aid of his Mediaset empire, he now controls 90% of the bel paese’s television channels including the state-run RAI network. Quantity, it seems, does not equal quality. Fed on a diet of semi-naked dancing girls, inane competitions and rickety reality shows built around the most ridiculous of premises, is it any wonder that Italians are becoming a nation of fame-hungry wannabes?

The last days of Marco Pannella’s life - indomitable and disruptive protagonist over 60 years of Italian political life - shown through never before seen repertory materials, as well as unpublished interviews and illustrious interventions. A deserved portrait, dedicated to one of the most independent figures of the 900 Italian.

Guelfo is a Florentine noble who has never worked and has no money. On the death of his mother, he believes he can inherit a large fortune, but from the notary he learns that he has an illegitimate brother with whom he will have to share half of his inheritance. His brother is called Felice, he works as a waiter in Bari and goes to Florence with a student friend who is indebted to the usurers. A rivalry without quarter begins between the two brothers.

Roberto Covelli, a Roman lawyer, goes on a Christmas holiday to his chalet in Cortina with his wife Elena and their daughters.

After withdrawing to the Chateau Marmont, a passionless Hollywood actor reexamines his life when his eleven-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit.

Barbara and Matteo are two Italians who live in Miami, managing a small restaurant overlooking the sea. Barbara is pregnant and the happy event brings their respective parents together in Miami: Massimo, Matteo's father, who has recently become a widower and has a hotel in Cortina, and Angela, Barbara's mother, who instead has a chain of restaurants and is separated from her husband. At first, the incompatibility between the two is sky-high. Then, while events, misunderstandings and plots of various kinds revolve around them, the ice slowly begins to break and affinities emerge when the two find themselves busy restoring peace between their children, who have entered into a crisis due to the birth of the little girl.

Forty years after their beginnings on the frequencies of Radio Popolare, Gialappa’s Band retraces its professional history in a film directed by Walter Veltroni.With his attentive and original perspective, the director takes us through four decades of comedy, invention, and irony, recounting the journey of Giorgio Gherarducci, Marco Santin, and Carlo Taranto, three leading figures who revolutionized the language of entertainment in Italy. L’assurda storia della Gialappa’s Band explores the creative universe of the legendary trio and the mark left by their unique brand of comedy, capable of transcending generations and becoming an integral part of Italian popular culture.

No overview available.

No overview available.

No overview available.

Comedy/satirical show, with sketches and reports into political affairs and consumer issues. Recurring features of the show, besides the reportage, are the double interviews in which two famous people are asked the same questions, and are edited together on a split screen, side by side so that they answer one after the other.

Ciao Darwin is a variety game show format from Italy sold under licence to several countries, including Romania, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Canada, USA, China and Greece. There are two competing teams of about 50 people each, usually made up of people who fit certain opposing stereotypes. In each game two members of the audience are selected at random, one from each team, indicated by a light in front of them which remains illuminated when all the other team members' lights have gone off. The games involve contestants competing in acts of bravery, style and talent, some of which are designed to humiliate the contestants, especially an assault course which was introduced with the Italian version in 2010, and the Finale which is a water tank game.

No overview available.