Here at Shorts That Are Not Pants, we love showing shorts from around the world and are thrilled to be co-presenting a program of Italian shorts with the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF). To our friends at ICFF, grazie mille for inviting us to co-present!
The program is united by its focus on the lives of Italians, but is varied just as much as their own personal struggles and successes. Genres include everything from documentary to narrative drama and comedy. The descriptions below were provided by the programmers and IMDb.
Eppure io l’amavo (To Think I Loved Him!)
Director: Cristina Puccinelli | Italy 2013 | 15 mins
A librarian betrayed and abandoned by her boyfriend tries to take revenge without success. Her actions become a catastrophe that will make her feel worse. After several attempts to rescue, she looks up a word in the dictionary to understand what’s going on. She finds forgiveness, which will lead her to also search for the meaning of love: hers no longer exists. She just has to let go. This is the story of the end of a love affair, a non-romantic comedy.
Ad esempio (For Example)
Director: Silvio Governi | Italy 2013 | 15 mins
Embittered by his critical financial condition, an honest family man decides to take part in a bank robbery, but when he gets to the bank the morning after, he finds his wife and son among the clients.
Gabbie (Cages)
Director: Gianni Cardillo | Italy 2013 | 15 mins
Giammarco, a former construction worker who is now paraplegic, becomes an actor. The doctor who had treated him at the Spinal Unit of Cagliari, convinces him to hold a mock conference on Security, posing as a doctor. The goal of the doctor is to cause a shock to the public that, very reluctantly, is forced (by the law) to follow classes on Security.
Cambiamenti (Changes)
Director: Giuliano Capozzi | Italy 2014 | 9 mins
Michael is a young lawyer at the service of organized crime. He is called by the neighborhood boss to a private meeting, which has as its subject the murder of his brother. The meeting will take unexpected implications.
Gli immacolati (The Immaculates)
Director: Ronny Trocker | France 2013 | 13 mins
December 2011, in a town in northern Italy, a young man returns home as he does every evening. He parks his car and discovers his 16-year-old sister in tears in front of their house. She tells him that two young Romani guys have brutally raped her. The young man immediately goes in search of the attackers but cannot find them. The neighbourhood organizes a solidarity march in view of the event. The tension begins to rise…
La mela fossa (The Red Apple)
Director: Giovanni Princigalli | Italy/Canada 2014 | 20 mins
A love between two Romanian Gypsy kids who live in a camp on the outskirts in southern Italy (Puglia). Vitalis arrived from Romania. On his first day at school, Vitalis gets taken there by Giuly. During his first day of school Vitalis is the victim of an act of racism. Giuly and Vitalis play with their real names, as they relive and recite their daily. This film together with a documentary filmed in the same community will soon be published as a book and DVD set with support from Teca del Mediteranneo and the Guarantor of Children’s rights at the Council of the Region of Puglia.
Il museo chiude quando l’autore è stanco (The Museum Closes When the Author is Tired)
Director: Paolo Buatti | Italy 2013 | 23 mins
In this documentary Fausto Delle Chiaie tells about his artistic and personal philosophy. He creates his artworks with improvised performances born on raw materials. His living sculptures involve not only himself but also the unaware passerby. The “Open Air Museum” is a walk into trashed and recycled objects seen through social criticism as paradox. Delle Chiaie has carved out his career in Rome, a city always analyzed and contemplated in his artworks. A special point of view on art described by the experience of an unusual artist.
ICFF’s presentation of Italian Short films screens on June 15th at 10:30 am at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Visit the ICFF website to learn more about this program. General tickets are available for $13.60 and student tickets are $11.30. Hope to see you there!