5 REASONS TO VISIT

1. The return of Nanni Moretti

Five years after the Palme d’Or-winning The Son’s Room, Italian actor-writer-director Nanni Moretti returns with the multilayered The Caiman (pictured). Set in contemporary Rome, it’s the study of a producer’s failing marriage, a comic examination of low-budget filmmaking, and a scathing critique of Silvio Berlusconi’s assault on democracy. Moretti gives the lead role to Silvio Orlando, saving a chilling surprise cameo for himself.

2. The rise of Paolo Sorrentino

Still only in his mid-30s, the Neapolitan director Sorrentino has emerged as one of Italian cinema’s most dynamic talents. He follows up his stylish Mafia thriller The Consequences of Love with the Fellini-esque A Family Friend, a bizarre account of the relationship between a grotesque elderly loan shark and a beautiful young woman. Effortlessly shifting between dream and ‘reality’, this dark fairytale is packed with startling, surreal imagery.

3. Kim Rossi Stuart

Stuart, an actor best known to British audiences for his lead roles in The Keys to the House and the recently released gangster epic Romanzo Criminale, makes his directorial debut in Along the Ridge. Co-written with Linda Ferri (The Son’s Room), it offers a child’s eye perspective on a family struggling to stay afloat on account of the mother’s periodic absences.

4. The tribute to Roberto Rossellini

On the 100th anniversary of the late director’s birth, a chance to see his superlative drama of a marriage in crisis, Voyage to Italy. Starring his then wife Ingrid Bergman. There’s also an opportunity to watch Isabella Rossellini’s appreciation of her father, My Dad is 100 Years Old, directed by Canadian fabulist Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World).

5. The Session is Open

Given the recent headlines about Mafia-related murders in Naples, this vérité documentary from Vincenzo Marra has obvious topicality. Apparently granted unprecedented access to the Italian judicial system, the director focuses on the trial of a Camorra associate, to reveal a worrying degree of institutional apathy.

The 13th Italian Film Festival starts at GFT, Glasgow & Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 17 Nov.