Rome, Open City
Making lists is an activity moviegoers are fond of. Every year, the same ritual: compilation of the ten best films, with comparative analyses, debates, heated discussions. But what about the ultimate list of the most outstanding films in the history of cinema? That is to say, those films that must be seen, those that have forever transformed the art of cinema, but also our way of seeing a culture, of understanding the world as well as our own lives? This program aims to tackle this challenge with nearly eighty films, produced between 1916 and 1960, while waiting for your lists!
In Rome, during the Second World War, Manfredi, the leader of a communist resistance network tries to escape from the Gestapo, with the help of Francesco, Pina and the priest Don Pietro.
Trailer in Italian with English subtitles. The movie will be shown in Italian with French subtitles.
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini is one of the most influential directors in the history of Italian cinema, playing a key role in bringing it to international prominence with films like Rome, Open City (1945), Paisan (1946), and Germany, Year Zero (1948), cementing his place as a founding figure of neorealism. Born into a bourgeois Roman family, Rossellini grew up in a rich artistic and cultural environment. His father, who built Rome’s first cinema, exposed him to film from an early age, allowing him to attend countless screenings. After directing several short films, he made his first three features, The White Ship (1941), A Pilot Returns (1942), and The Man with a Cross (1943), collectively known as his Fascist Trilogy. Shot as the fascist regime was collapsing, Rome, Open City (1945) won the Grand Prize (Palme d’or) at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946. He followed with Paisan, featuring non-professional actors, and Germany, Year Zero (1948), which earned the Grand Prize and Best Screenplay Award at the Locarno Film Festival. In the late 1940s, a letter from Ingrid Bergman sparked a relationship that placed them in the public eye. Together, they collaborated on several films throughout the 1950s, beginning with Stromboli. Rossellini continued making films until the mid-1970s, shortly before his death.
