LITTLE TORNADOES
Synopsis
A newly-single father struggles to weather the turbulence of change in his family, while a new immigrant endeavours to find her place in a foreign land. Set in 1971 rural Australia, Introverted Leo is a metalworker at his small town’s local plant. After his wife vanishes, leaving him to care for their two young children, he is bereft – barely able to cook a decent meal or keep the household running. So when a recently-arrived Italian colleague suggests that his sister, Maria, act as surrogate homemaker, Leo reluctantly accepts. But can one woman’s warm, nurturing presence fill the void left by another, and can Leo yield to the winds of change?
Directed by: Aaron Wilson
Written by: Aaron Wilson, Christos Tsolkas
Starring: Mark Leonard Winter, Silvia Colloca, Robert Menzies, Fabio Motta
Produced by: Susan Schmidt, Aaron Wilson, Ian Anderson, Katrina Fleming, Christian Pazzaglia
Year: 2022
Country: Australia
Language: English & Italian
Length: 90 min
Genre: Drama
Rating: M
Festivals/Awards: Melbourne International Film Festival
PROMISED
Synopsis
In 1953, five year-old Robert and newborn Angela are promised in marriage by their fathers.
Twenty one years on, despite changing times, fading traditions and Angela’s love for another man, Tom – she is expected to marry Robert, the son of the very influential and connected Joe… a man her father, Sal, is indebted to.
…And we learn – love like life is never perfectly arranged.
Directed by: Nick Conidi, Tony Ferrieri
Starring: Paul Mercurio, Antoniette Iesue, Mirko Grillini, Tina Arena, Sunday Barca Irving
Produced by: Nathan Primmer
Year: 2019
Country: Australia
Language: English & Italian
Length: 97 min
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Rating: PG
THE SPACE BETWEEN
Synopsis
Marco (Flavio Parenti) is a 35 year-old ex-chef who has given up his career and any sense of hope to return to Udine in Northern Italy to nurse his ailing father. Even when offered a job at a restaurant in Melbourne, he declines using his father as the excuse.
When tragedy strikes, the only glimmer of joy arrives in the form of Olivia (Maeve Dermody), a spirited Australian chasing her dream of working in design while on a family mission in Udine. Against the stunning vineyards, rugged mountains and blue Adriatic of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, these two very different people find themselves at a crossroads that will change their lives forever.
Directed by: Ruth Borgobello
Wrriten by: Ruth Borgobello, Mario Mucciarelli
Starring: Flavio Parenti, Maeve Dermody, Elettra Dallimore Mallaby
Production: Lizzie Shapiro, Lexi Tannenholtz
Year: 2023
Country: Australia & Italy
Language: English & Italian
Length: 87 min
Genre: Drama
GIORGIO MANGIAMELE COLLECTION
About
Two provocative works from an Italian filmmaker in post-war Australia: THE SPAG and NINETY NINE PERCENT. Giorgio Mangiamele is one of the most under-estimated figures in Australian cinema history. Soon after his arrival in Australia in 1952 as a migrant from Italy, he began making films at a time when feature film production in Australia was almost non-existent. His films were seldom seen in Australia.
Ninety Nine Per Cent
Length: 45 minutes
Year: 1963
Synopsis
Pino, an Italian immigrant widower, seeks an agency bride to keep house and be wife and mother to him and his son Peter.
The Spag
Length: 35 minutes
Year: 1962
Synopsis
Director Giorgio Mangiamele produced the first examples of multicultural cinema in this country. ‘The Spag’ was shot in the streets of Carlton and tells the story of a newspaper boy working to support his widowed mother; along the way his life is fraught with racism. The film is Neo-Realist in style and makes interesting use of incidental music and post-sync dubbed dialogue track; a dog’s bark is even mimicked by an actor’s voice. Stars the young Terry Donovan.
Directed & Produced by: Giorgio Mangiamele
Year: 1963 & 1962
Country: Australia
Language: English
Length: 80 mins
Genre: Drama
FanForce ©2023. All rights reserved
FanForce acknowledges that we are on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. We honour these traditional custodians, and pay our respects to Elders both past and present.