Italian Classics

Nothing would be the same in European cinema after the first screening of what turned out to be one of the most influential films in history. The week of Marcello, Paparazzo, the stars, the ephemeral glow and fake idols, a journey to life’s true meaning. — Wandering through a privileged enclave of Rome, Marcello, a gossip journalist, encounters elegant aristocrats, hungry artists, vulgar nouveau riche, charlatans and "magicians" of the elite nightlife. He discovers that beneath the surface of their deceptive grace lurks emptiness, despair and loneliness, all of which lead to an implacable thinker friend finding a tragic end. — Palme D'Or | Cannes Film Festival | 1960 Best Costume Design | Oscars | 1962

Federico Fellini’s first great film is a bittersweet depiction of a whole era in Italy, that puts a company of men in permanent post-adolescent stagnation, still living with their parents, afraid to take matters in their own hands. — A premature pregnancy upsets the lives of the five protagonists of Fellini's autobiographical tragicomedy. The father, Fausto, is forced into a marriage, but this does not seem to affect his philandering. And the five boys, lost bodies, "unweaned calves" according to the title, are immobilized on the threshold of adulthood. — Silver Lion | Venice Film Festival | 1953 Nomination for Best Screenplay | Oscars | 1958