Byron Bay and Ballina 26 September – 16 October, Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE LOVE AFFAIR, THE ST. ALi ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SPRING! FIRST HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE VENICE OPENING NIGHT FILM
The 2024 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace returns to cinemas with a not to be missed programme of the best new Italian films and classic gems screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Byron Bay and Ballina from September 18.
Multi-talented Italian-Australian food writer, TV producer and host Silvia Colloca will invite audiences to enjoy ‘la dolce vita’ as this year’s ST. ALi Italian Film Festival Ambassador, sharing her love of all things Italian with festival audiences!
This year’s diverse program includes award-winning drama, documentary, laugh-out-loud comedy and historical epics starring an array of iconic talent. The first highlights offer a glimpse into the programme which celebrates Italian cinema and filmmakers at their very best.
Special Presentations include the playful, meta comedy MARCELLO MIO, led by acting royalty and real-life mother-daughter duo Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. A joyful imagining of the daily lives of a creative family, it focuses on the legacy of the great Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni, Chiara’s late, real-life father.
The festival’s second Special Presentation and winner of the 2024 Sydney International Film Festival’s coveted Sydney Film Prize is THERE’S STILL TOMORROW (C'è ancora domani). A box office smash hit in Italy and multi award-winning drama set in postwar 1940s Rome, this directorial debut from actress Paola Cortellesi follows a woman breaking traditional family patterns and aspiring to a different future.
The 2023 Venice Film Festival opener COMANDANTE is a gripping maritime thriller starring festival favourite Pierfrancesco Favino. Favino delivers a powerhouse performance as a Naval Captain who commands the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini in the Battle of the Atlantic and is faced with a moral dilemma.
Italo-French co-production MARIA MONTESSORI (La Nouvelle Femme), is a bold and illuminating drama set at the turn of the 20th Century. The film stars Jasmine Trinca as the famed Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori, whose revolutionary methods are still used across the globe today.
And for bambini and nonni alike, THE WAR OF THE NONNI (La guerra dei nonni) is a fun family comedy starring Vincenzo Salemme and Max Tortora as competing grandfathers. When Nonno Tom returns from abroad, a series of hilarious challenges ensue as he and Nonno Gerri compete for the affections of their grandchildren.
For information and updates, please visit italianfilmfestival.com.au and sign up or follow us on Facebook @ItalianFF and Instagram @ItalianFilmFest for all the latest news.