Festival Programme

Films by Country

Italy

Ennio

Giuseppe Tornatore

Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso NZIFF 1990) pays tribute to legendary composer Ennio Morricone and his prolific career that spanned over seven decades and included the scores to more than 70 award-winning films.

Kidnapped

Rapito

Marco Bellocchio

Direct from Cannes this visually rich costume drama rips the jaw-dropping true story of the abduction of a young Jewish boy by the Catholic church from the pages of history.

La Chimera

Alice Rohrwacher

Set in 80s Tuscany Alice Rohrwacher’s enchanting new film stars The Crown’s Josh O’Connor as a lovelorn Englishman who teams with an eccentric gang of grave-robbers to plunder ancient Etruscan artefacts.

L’immensità

Emanuele Crialese

Penélope Cruz delivers retro-glamour in this gorgeous 70-set Italian melodrama, starring as a wife in a failing marriage and the mother of three children, the eldest of which is questioning their sexual identity.

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams

Luca Guadagnino

There are shoemakers, and then there's Salvatore Ferragamo—whose glittering life is explored in this affectionate, glam-packed documentary film by award-winning Italian director Luca Guadagnino.