Into Paradiso

The Istituto Luce turned ninety in 2014, its decades-long history intertwined with that of Italy itself, through cinema and that unique treasure trove of images known to all as the Luce Archives. To celebrate its anniversary, some of the most acclaimed rising filmmakers in Italy were invited to make a small film, with each director selecting ten minutes of footage from the archives, out of the thousands of hours of footage to be found there. The result is an album full of different narratives.

Professor Biondi is a depressed scientist. After his wife's death, he lives isolated from the world in the Nevada desert, near Area 51. He supposedly works on a top-secret project for the US government, but in actuality, he spends his days on the couch, listening to the sound of the Universe. His only contact with the outside world is Stella, who organizes alien-themed weddings for tourists on the prowl for extra-terrestrials. One day the Professor receives a message from Naples: his dying brother is entrusting him with his two children, so that they may live with him in America.

In 17th-century Italy, a teenager learns about her destiny among a family of witches, just as her boyfriend's father hunts her down for witchcraft.