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FIRST RUN FEATURES PRESENTS
NAPLES '44
Francesco Patierno's New Documentary Opens November 29 at Film Forum
Film Forum
Daily Showtimes: 12:30, 2:20, 4:15, 6:10, 8:00, 9:50
November 29-December 12
Los Angeles Opens December 8; other cities to follow
Interviews available upon request
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First Run Features is proud to announce the theatrical premiere of Naples '44, directed by the acclaimed Francesco Patierno (DIVA!, Pater Familiias, The War of the Volcanoes). The film opens at New York's Film Forum on November 29, 2017, and in Los Angeles on December 8 at Laemmle’s Music Hall. Other cities will follow.Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch gives life to the words of British soldier Norman Lewis, whose remarkable memoir of post-World War II Naples form the basis for this haunting evocation of a ravaged land, and later a city of infinite charm. Lewis entered Naples as part of an invasion of Nazi-occupied Italy. His memories and his return many years later are recalled with magnificent warmth and wit.
Filmmaker Francesco Patierno combines riveting archival war footage with clips from movies set in Naples from the 1950s and 60s (featuring Marcello Mastroianni, Alan Arkin, Ernest Borgnine) to evoke a city that was as much a victim of the war as any individual – but that has come back to life with
all the charisma of Vesuvius, its very own volcano.[synopsis courtesy of Karen Cooper, Film Forum]
“A riveting film, a complex portrait of the mystery of Naples.” – Corriere della Sera
“If it weren’t for the time-chiseled patina on the footage dug out from archives, the powerful images of Vesuvius erupting, or the Caravaggio-esque faces of the faithful praying, there really wouldn’t be much difference between the Naples of this time and the cities martyred by the conflicts of today, like Aleppo, like Mosul.” – Il Mattino
“Magnificent. (An) elegant, moving, balanced war diary.” – Il Foglio
“An unusual, but powerful docufilm.” – Il Giornale
“Francesco Patierno’s filmmaking is truly complementary to and as worthy as Norman Lewis’s work of literature. Wounded, devastated, bombed and raped… a whole city seems to want to come out of the nightmare and shout out against war. Against all wars.”– Il Manifesto
Filmmaker Biography
Francesco Patierno - Francesco's first feature film, “Pater Familia," in competition at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, was nominated for three Silver Ribbon awards and a David di Donatello award. It won 12 prizes for best directorial debut (including the Variety Critics choice awards) and was selected for over one hundred film festivals. February 2008 saw the release of "The Early Bird Catches the Worm", selected in
competition for the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and nominated at the David di Donatello awards for best supporting actor. In the same year he directed four episodes of the FoxCrime TV series "Donne Assassine", winning the Best Director and Best Leading Actress nominations at the 2011 Rome Fiction Festival. In the same year his third feature film "Things from Another World" took part in the Controcampo section of the Venice Film Festival and was in competition at the Tokyo Festival. In 2012 his "The War of the Volcanoes", a documentary on the love triangle between Roberto Rossellini, Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman, was successfully screened at the Venice, Toronto, London and New York festivals and was sold in over thirty countries worldwide. January 2014 saw the release of his fourth feature film "People Who Are Well", starring Claudio Bisio, Margherita Buy and Diego Abatantuono. In 2016 “Naples ‘44”, based on the book of the same name by Norman Lewis and
featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as narrator, was invited to the official selection of the Rome Film Festival, In 2017 it won the Silver Ribbon award for Best Documentary and was nominated for a David di Donatello award. In 2017 his latest film to date, DIVA!, featuring eight top Italian actresses, was in the official selection of the Venice Film Festival.
Credits
Directed by Francesco Patierno
Edited by Maria Fantastica Valmori
Produced by Davide Azzolini, Francesca Barra
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NAPLES '44
Director - Francesco Patierno
Run Time - 85 minutes
Language - English
Format - Digital
Year - 2016
Genre –
Documentary
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