Paolo Hendel
This is the story of 3 friends, destined to lose and find each other over and over again. More importantly, this is the (true) story of a film theatre in Florence, The Universale, which was a cultural landmark in the city between the '60s and the '80s. It was a theater of its own kind, bringing together intellectuals, students, as well as the people from San Frediano, a well-known working-class Quartiere. Such unusual mixture among the cinema-goers also produced a sort of creative chaos, which is explored through the eyes of Tommaso, the projectionist's son.
Nella Firenze 'magnifica' di Lorenzo De' Medici, cinque amici praticano con disinvoltura l'ozio e la bischerata. Irresponsabili e impenitenti, si ritrovano periodicamente per esorcizzare un domani di cui non v'è certezza, perché la peste è alle porte e il Savonarola è in città a predicare l'Apocalisse e a infliggere castighi. Duccio, consigliere svogliato, Cecco, oste sfaticato, Jacopo medico col vizietto, Manfredo, nullafacente con esagerata prole, e Filippo, nobile signore becco e infedele, dopo aver turbato le sorelle del convento con un nano ‘infante' e superdotato e aver tirato scemo il legnaiolo Alderighi, sottraendogli la focosa consorte e scambiandogli la vita, decidono per troppa noia di prendersi gioco di uno di loro, condannandolo loro malgrado ‘a capitolare'.
Levante lives in a small city near Florence (Tuscany, Italy) and his life is plain and a bit boring, until the day the twister arrives: a bus with six Spanish flamenco dancers that will twist Levante and his family life.
In 1944 in Tuscany, a group of boxers facing the disasters of the Second World War, during the intrusive presence of the Germans and the Americans, organizes rigged matches to make some money and travel from town to town, hoping to participate in local fairs. A young black American soldier, believed missing, and a girl who refused to marry accompany the ramshackle group.
Edo and Lupo are two countrymen running away after having robbed their boss. They are chased by 3 mercernaries. They will meet real gangsters, then some excentric nobles. At this time, they are separated for an experiment. Edo is given education, while Lupo is left alone unattended. The goal is to determine whether education can make a man more clever.
Let's Hope It's a Girl is a multifaceted exploration of the pointlessness of sexual stereotypes. Liv Ullmann is a countess who, after her divorce, takes over the family farm. Realizing that she can't rely on the patriarchal society structure for assistance, Ullmann runs the farm herself with the help of her female servants and relatives. When the Count (Philipe Noiret) comes back into her life, he and his male buddies find themselves outclassed by the expertise of the ladies.
The Night of San Lorenzo, the night of the shooting stars, is the night when dreams come true in Italian folklore. In 1944, a group of Italians flee their town after hearing rumours that the Nazis plan to blow it up and that the Americans are about to arrive to liberate them.
