The eighth annual San Diego Italian Film Festival begins Thursday with a lineup of new Italian films ranging from dramas and comedies to documentaries.
All the films featured except one were produced in Italy within the past 18 months, and many are regional or even U.S. premieres.
The festival begins with “Anni Felici” (Those Happy Years), a moving portrait of a young Italian family living through the turbulent, freedom-loving ’70s. The film has only been seen in the United States at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
Screenings of this film are Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park and 7:30 p.m. Friday at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.
Included in the week-long lineup is 2013’s “La Grande Bellezza” (The Great Beauty), co-written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, which won Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.
“The San Diego Italian Film Festival is about more than just movies,” said president Victor Laruccia. “It is about identity, history, and a shared appreciation of Italian culture and great cinema — in a word, it is about community. In Italy, communities come together in the piazza or town square. The San Diego Italian Film Festival is such a place, for a diverse audience of film lovers and those who appreciate Italian culture.”
All tickets are $10 at the door, cash only, with a reduced price of $8 for festival members, students and military.
