Italian Film Festival announces exciting Leeside line up

Italy boasts one of the great film heritages and some of the world’s greatest ever directors such as Federico Fellini, Bernardo Bertolluci and Sergio Leone.

Organised by the Embassy of Italy in Ireland, the Italian Institute of Culture and the Italian Irish Chamber of Commerce, the 3rd NICE Italian Film Festival will take place from 25 April to 5 May in Cork, Dublin and Galway and will screen Italian films by some of Italy’s best contemporary directors including Sydney Sibilia, Andrea Di Stefano and Maria Sole Tognazzi.

The New Italian Cinema Event (NICE) Italian Film Festival will open in the Arc Cinema in Cork on Friday 26 April with the screening of the film ‘Io Capitano’ which follows two teenage boys from Senegal as they try to get into Europe. Directed by Matteo Garrone, the film was nominated for 2024 Academy Awards as Best International Feature Film.

Over the course of three days, the festival will screen six Italian films in Cork, which will all be subtitled in English.

These include ‘Il primo giorno della mia vita' which is directed by Paolo Genovese and is a story about having the strength to start again in life when everything seems to be falling apart. ‘Felicità’ directed by Micaela Ramazzotti is the story of a broken family, of selfish and manipulative parents who devour every hope of freedom for their children.

‘Dieci Minuti’ directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi shows how in the middle of an existential crisis, doing something new for ten minutes can change the course of a life while ‘Palazzina LAF’ directed by Michele Riondino is set in the Ilva steel plant in Taranto in southern Italy where one member of staff is asked by the management team to spy on his fellow workers.

The NICE Italian Film Festival through its screenings in Cork, Dublin and Galway will showcase the work of emerging Italian directors including Margherita Buy, Micaela Ramazzotti, Michele Riondino and will also screen films from established directors, such as Paolo Genovese, Matteo Garrone, Alice Rohrwacher to create an intriguing mix of themes and genres.

The NICE Italian Film Festival will close in Cork on Sunday 28 April with the screening of ‘L’ultima notte di Amore' directed by acclaimed Italian actor, writer and director Andrea Di Stefano. The film tells the story of a police lieutenant who on the night before his retirement is asked to investigate a crime scene where his best friend has been killed during a diamond heist.

The Italian Film Festival in Cork is organised in collaboration with the Italian Department in University College Cork and the support of Cork International Film Festival.

The dates and venues of the other screenings at the NICE Italian Film Festival are: · 25-28 April - Light House Cinema Dublin

· 3-5 May - Pálás Cinema Galway

For more info and to book tickets see nicefestival.org.