Comizi d'autore – Contemporary Italian filmmakers in the footsteps of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pier Paolo Pasolini was born 100 years ago, on March 5th, 1922. His reputation as one of the most important directors in film history is well established, but his influence on this history is difficult to grasp: Often his life, including his violent death in 1975, is understood as a Gesamtkunstwerk. On the one hand, this makes sense; after all, Pasolini appeared not only as a director, but also as a poet, novelist, journalist, public intellectual and, last but not least, in more than 30 trials, as a defendant having to answer for the controversial issues of his time, with regard to faith, art, politics and sexuality. On the other hand, it puts the person before the oeuvre and relegates the examination of his artistic positions to the sidelines. For some time now, a new generation of directors in Italy has set out to explore the content of this oeuvre, to pick up again on Pasolini’s preoccupation with the (sub)proletariat, and rediscover his stylistic devices such as fragile, episodic narration. Arsenal is showing a selection of these recent films from 2015 to 2021, enabling them to interact with works by Pasolini in five double programs curated by Hannah Pilarczyk. The program kicks off with the German premiere of RE GRANCHIO by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, one of the discoveries of the 2021 Cannes Festival. The premiere on March 5 will be accompanied by a Zoom talk with the directors. Also screening for the first time in Germany is NON È SOGNO by Giovanni Cioni. FUTURA by Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher will enjoy its Berlin premiere. (Hannah Pilarczyk)
In conjunction with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Berlino.