Opening Film: The Great Silence (Il silenzio grande)
Midwest Premiere | Director: Alessandro Gassmann | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 107 min | 2021
In Person: Thursday, February 24 at 7:00pm at Landmark Center | Streaming: February 28 - March 6

When the Primic mansion, overlooking the Gulf of Naples, falls into disrepair, Rose (Margherita Buy) decides to put it up for sale, Valerio (Massimiliano Gallo), her husband, feels alone in his protest, and slowly starts to realize he doesn’t truly know his own family, and perhaps not even himself. His journey of self-discovery ultimately leads him to a poignant truth–one that will turn the audience’s point of view upside down.

Mysteries (I Misteri)
World Premiere | Director: Daniele Greco, Mauro Maugeri | Documentary Feature | Runtime: 71 min | 2022
In Person: Friday, February 25 at 7:00pm at Landmark Center | Streaming: February 28 - March 6

LIVE ONLINE FILM DISCUSSION AND Q&A with Directors Daniele Greco and Mauro Maugeri on Sunday, March 6 at 12:00 PM CT: REGISTER HERE I Misteri is a visually stunning, powerful and breathtaking documentary that unveils a world of traditional religious feasts as spectacular and beautiful to watch as they are extremely dangerous to perform. The four Sicilian towns of fishermen and farmers portrayed in the film spend many months preparing for events that ultimately unfold in very few hours, bringing communities together to achieve the fullest expression of their collective identity. IFF is excited to offer its audience these ancient and unknown Southern Italian rituals that will leave everyone speechless.

The King Of Laughter (Qui rido io)
US Premiere | Director: Mario Martone | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 132 min | 2021
In Person: Saturday, February 26 at 7:00pm at Landmark Center | Streaming: February 28 - March 6

LIVE ONLINE FILM DISCUSSION AND Q&A with director Mario Martone and actress Cristiana Dell'Anna on Saturday, March 5 at 12:00 PM CT: REGISTER HERE. Naples, 1904: Italian theatre is thriving, and at the height of its popularity, comic actor, Eduardo Scarpetta, risked everything by staging a parody of the great Italian poet, Gabriele D’Annunzio. Booed and hissed from the stage by younger rivals, Scarpetta was sued for plagiarism, leading to the first ever copyright lawsuit in Italy. Despite legal troubles and familial strife, Scarpetta fought not only for his craft but for his legacy as one of the great thespians of Italian theater. Acclaimed by national and international critics alike at its Venice Film Festival premiere, Qui Rido Io is Italian cinema in its greatest and purest form: from the exceptional acting ensemble, to the cinematography, costume design, production design and the overwhelmingly contagious Neapolitan energy, everything in this film is memorable. IFF could not be any happier to host its U.S premiere.

L’avventura
CELEBRATING MONICA | Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 143 min | 1960
In Person: Sunday, February 27 at 3:00pm at Landmark Center

Monica Vitti, an icon of Italian cinema for generations, passed away this February at the age of ninety. IFF is proud to pay tribute to this incredibly talented actress with the screening of L’avventura by Michelangelo Antonioni, the film that made Vitti a star and by many considered one of the greatest Italian films of all time. An iconic piece of challenging 1960s cinema and a gripping narrative on its own terms, L’avventura concerns the enigmatic disappearance of a young woman during a yachting trip off the coast of Sicily, and the search taken up by her disaffected lover (Gabriele Ferzetti) and best friend (Monica Vitti, in her breakout role).

The Macaluso Sisters (Le sorelle Macaluso)
Minnesota Premiere | Director: Emma Dante | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 89 min | 2020
In Person: Sunday, February 27 at 6:30pm at Landmark Center

Emma Dante’s stunning and powerful drama follows the lives of five sisters whose world is turned upside down by a sudden catastrophe–one that will alter the course of their relationships for the rest of their lives.

I Am Santa Claus (Io sono Babbo Natale)
Midwest Premiere | Director: Edoardo Falcone | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 98 min | 2021
Streaming: February 28 - March 6

Ettore has spent the last five years in jail for a robbery. Once out of prison, alone and desperate, he roams the streets of Rome and meets a peculiar old man named Nicola. He decides to take advantage of the encounter and robs him. After breaking into his house, however, Ettore realizes Nicola doesn’t have anything worth stealing. Furthermore, the elderly man tells him something rather surprising: he proclaims to be Santa Claus. Can this be real?

The Inner Cage (Ariaferma)
Midwest Premiere | Director: Leonardo Di Costanzo | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 117 min | 2021
Streaming: February 28 - March 6

A decaying prison in modern-day Italy is on the verge of shutting down. When bureaucracy gets in the way, a dozen inmates, together with a handful of guards, are left behind. Isolated from the rest of the world, rules become hazy and new dynamics form resulting in an outstanding acting duel between accomplished pros Toni Servillo (The Great Beauty, The Hand of God) and Silvio Orlando (The Caiman, The Ties). Ariaferma premiered to critical acclaim at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and has since become one of the year's best received films by audiences.

Love Meetings (Comizi d'amore)
Minnesota Premiere | Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Documentary Feature | Runtime: 92 min | 1964
Streaming: February 28 - March 6

LIVE ONLINE FILM DISCUSSION AND Q&A with Prof. Francesca Cadel on Sunday, March 6 at 3:00 PM CT: REGISTER HERE. 4K Restoration! On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of film director, poet, writer and intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975), IFF is excited to screen Comizi d'Amore (Love Meetings), filmed in 1963 throughout Italy to interview people on a wide range of topics: marriage and the legalization of divorce, the importance of sex in everyday life, homosexuality, prostitution, machismo and gender roles. Comizi d'Amore offers a unique insight into the Italy of the 1960s through conversations that still resonate today.

Our Ghosts (I nostri fantasmi)
Director: Alessandro Capitani | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 90 min | 2021
Streaming: February 28 - March 6

Myriam and her young daughter Emma have rented an apartment that seems to be inhabited by ghosts. In truth, it is widowed and jobless Valerio, along with his 6-year-old son Carlo, hiding in the attic and determined to scare tenants in the hope of returning to live in the apartment. Their creative, playful stratagem has proven successful, but Myriam is not easily scared. Things may take a surprising twist. This delicate and touching dramedy on life challenges and second chances will brighten your day.

With or Without You (Una relazione)
Midwest Premiere | Director: Stefano Sardo | Fiction Feature | Runtime: 110 min | 2021
Streaming: February 28 - March 6

Alice and Tommaso live in Rome and have been together for fifteen years. Invited to dinner for a special announcement, their friends think they are going to announce their marriage, but the truth surprises everyone.

Una Relazione is a fun, fresh, extremely well written Italian take on classic American romantic comedy.