The Open Roads New Italian Cinema 2024 film festival brings Italian movie legends and emerging filmmakers to Film at Lincoln Center screens.
Italy is a cultural powerhouse with important directors, cinematographers, and actors. Italian Neorealism, Surrealism, and Spaghetti Westerns all influenced Hollywood filmmaking, including the many great Italian American filmmakers. This Festival offers an interesting look at what Italians are doing now with many North American and New York premieres. There are filmmaker Q&As. Films are in Italian with subtitles.
Open Roads New Italian Cinema 2024
Film at Lincoln Center
The 23rd Open Roads New Italian Cinema 2024 film festival, co-produced with Cinecittà; is at Film at Lincoln Center from May 30 to June 6, 2024. From $17. All-Access Pass $129. 🇮🇹
The opening night film is “The War Machine” (2023) by Edoardo de Angelis. It’s the story of a World War II submarine commander’s moral dilemma. Should he rescue the sailors from the ship he sunk after they attacked his sub, or leave them to die in the open ocean? After all he is a sailor too. The film stars the great actor Pierfrancesco Favino. The director will do Q&A at the Thursday, May 30, 2024 screening.
This film is very relevant because the wheel of history has returned to a pre-war or early war moment. One of the signs of the approach of war is strategic preparation and the demonization of the opposition. That is happening now on both sides. The leader of this axis is stirring up trouble around the world. The American public has yet to accept that at least three countries are at war with us, and our major competitor is testing the waters. War is hell and healthy societies don’t seek it. The peace dividend of the Pax Americana since 1945 is so great that most Americans and Europeans are reluctant to leave that comfort zone.
The law of war is that if you sink a ship, you are responsible for rescuing the crew. That was the commander’s moral dilemma. Our moral dilemma is that we can lead ourselves into war by trying too hard to avoid it.
The festival is programmed by Dan Sullivan and Cinecittà, Italy’s film promotion agency.