Latest in Italy

Neon’s boutique label Super Ltd has acquired North American distribution rights to Notturno, the feature documentary from Gianfranco Rosi that recently was submitted by Italy to be that country’s submission to the 2021 International Oscar race. No word yet on a release plan for the pic, which bowed at this year’s…

As COVID-19 cases spike, Europe is once again taking serious measures to curb the virus’ spread. After initially shuttering its movie theaters in late February and then reopening in June, Italy is now set to close cinemas once again from tomorrow. At the same time, Spain has approved a new national state of alarm and…

Italy’s Serie A, one of the first pro sports leagues to shutter midseason as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country in March, said Thursday that its games will restart June 20. The soccer league with such global marquee teams as Juventus and Inter Milan was shut down March 10 midway through its 2019-2020 season…

Italy's cinemas will get back to business from June 15, the government announced Saturday as it outlined an overall easing of lockdown protocols in what was the initial epicenter of the European continent’s coronavirus outbreak. As with other markets that are beginning to lift restrictions on moviegoing, there will be…

President Donald Trump has had a quiet weekend so far as he grapples with one of the most important decisions in US history – when to reopen the country from its COVID-19 lockdown. "I'm going to have to make a decision, and I only hope to God that it's the right decision," Trump said Friday at his daily…

SAG-AFTRA members work on locations all across the globe, but the union told its members today not to report to work on any production locations subject to CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notices because of the coronavirus outbreak – presently China, Italy, Iran and South Korea. "Should a producer ask you to travel to any…

Italian authorities are probing global streamer Netflix over alleged tax evasion in the European country. In response, the streamer has said it “pays all the taxes due in Italy”. According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, the investigation has been opened by prosecutors in Milan after the U.S. company failed to…

Marco Bellocchio's The Traitor will be Italy's entry for the 2020 International Feature Film Oscar. The mafia drama tells the story of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafia informant in Sicily in the 1980s. Pierfrancesco Favino stars. The film premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. As we revealed, Sony…

Italy’s entry at the Oscar’s this year, Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea, is also being submitted in the feature documentary category. The film is largely seen through the eyes of 12-year old Samuele Puccilo, whose eight-square-mile home island of Lampedusa, located between Libya and Sicily, has become a crossroads for…

Cannes got a dose of REAL movie star glamour over the past two days when the legendary Sophia Loren came to town for a special screening of her new film, The Human Voice Tuesday night at Salle du Soixantieme and a two hour “Master Class” at the Bunuel on Wednesday afternoon. The film, based on the Jean Cocteau play…

In a category that sometimes seemed like a two-horse race between The Great Beauty and The Hunt, with the possible squeaker of The Broken Circle Breakdown, it was ultimately Paolo Sorrentino’s love letter to Rome that triumphed. Great Beauty is the 11th win for Italy at the Oscars and the first time since Roberto…

UPDATE, 12:50 PM: Italy’s Supreme Court has upheld the tax fraud verdict and one-year prison sentence for billionaire Italian politician/media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, but because of his age (he’s 76) it’s unlikely he’ll go to jail, the BBC reports. The court did order a review of a five-year ban on public office that…