NYU Casa Italiana Holds Annual Film Series at Lincoln Center

 

 

The Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo of New York University has been arranging free public events related to Italian culture since 1990, including lectures, art exhibits, concerts and film screenings, such as the film series Open Roads. Supported by the Baroness Zerilli-Marimò Endowment Fund, Lincoln Center held the screening of twelve new Italian films during the Open Roads series. 

The films at this year’s festival, according to Dan Sullivan, Film at Lincoln Center Programmer, were “more adventurous in terms of both style and substance” and increasingly “responsive to social and political developments,” both in Italy and abroad. Screenings and discussions were filled to capacity with only standing room available as young, upcoming, and prominent voices in contemporary Italian filmmaking, including Francesca Comencini, whose multi-award-nominated film The Time It Takes or l tempo che ci vuole starring Fabrizio Gifuni, was featured and opened the series. 

Attendants of the series heard the director’s commentary on their development process, production, and stylistic choices in discussions that expanded audiences’ interpretations of the films. The featured directors helped their audience “understand the motivations behind certain dynamics in order to truly engage” with the films, observes Chiara Basso, the Media & Communications Strategist at Casa Italiana NYU. According to Basso, Casa Italiana has organized many successful events that have “reach[ed] a new, often American, audience that usually has no direct connection to Italy” or contemporary Italian films.

Sources:

https://lavocedinewyork.com/arts/cinema/2025/06/01/casa-italiana-nyu-conclude-la-stagione-con-il-cinema-di-open-roads/ 

https://www.casaitaliananyu.org/events/open-roads-new-italian-cinema-2025/ 

https://www.nyu.edu/life/arts-culture-and-entertainment/galleries/galleries-and-sites/casa-italiana-zerilli-marimo-gallery.html 

– Lauren Carroll