Lost and Beautiful

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

For the 90th anniversary of the Istituto Luce, ten new-generation filmmakers were invited to dig into the archives of the famous institute. Pietro Marcello and Sara Fgaier decided to pay tribute to the rural world of this “lost and beautiful” Italy, accompanying their images with excerpts from Carlo Levi’s book, Un volto che ci somiglia (1960).

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.

Pietro Marcello directs this genre-defying Italian docudrama that follows mustachioed ex-con Enzo as he returns to Genoa after a long stint in prison, only to find that the city he once loved has changed almost beyond recognition. But as he combs the seaside town for hints of his past, he finds solace in the arms of Mary, his faithful lover and a transsexual who embodies the mysterious allure of Genoa itself. Mary Monaco and Vincenzo Motta star.

Italian-French historical romance drama film loosely based on the 1909 novel of the same name by Jack London about a young proletarian autodidact struggling to become a writer.

A portrait of Italy observed through the eyes of teenagers who talk about the places they live in and imagine themselves, torn between the opportunities that surround them, the dream of what they want to become, the fear of failing, the trials they hope to overcome.

A documentary about the Armenian avant-garde filmmaker, Artavazd Peleshian.

A journey through Italian landscapes as seen through the windows of a long-distance express train.