Tribute to Antonio Capuano

Antonio Capuano is one of those filmmakers whose pride and love for his home, for his city, for his Napoli, is overwhelming. His inspiration is the contemporary world that surrounds him and he turns that world into cinematic Art. He strives to tell the stories he wants to tell, they way he wants to tell them. Antonio Capuano is building a strong foundation for a body of work that will surely be remembered.

The Department of Film and Media’s annual collaboration with N.I.C.E. (New Italian Cinema Events) features emerging directors whose innovative work is deserving of international recognition. Antonio Capuano, this year’s artist in focus, is a well-known theater and television director, a painter and set designer, and a filmmaker. Capturing the maverick spirit flourishing in Naples today, the director is celebrated for his honest depiction of troubled teenagers and his ability to translate the grittiness of his native city’s streets into cinematic images. Capuano’s directorial debut, Vito and the Others, won the International Critics Award at the 1991 Venice Film Festival, where his Red Moon was also presented in competition in 2001. These and four other films by Capuano are featured in this exhibition.

Vito e gli altri (Vito and the Others). 1991. Italy. Written and directed by Antonio Capuano. With Nando Troila, Giovanni Bruno, Mario Lenti. Twelve-year-old Vito, already with a tragic past, mostly lives in the streets with homeless kids. The boy’s life descends into violence when he and his gang learn to use guns. Evoking the staccato rhythms of video games, the director gives vivid life to these young delinquents whose future seems hopeless. 85 min.
I Vesuviani (The Vesuvians: Sophialoren). 1997. Italy. An omnibus film with a segment written and directed by Antonio Capuano. With Tonino Taiuti, Flavio Brunetti. Capuano’s surrealist tale about a poor fisherman and his beloved squid that nightly transforms itself into a beautiful woman. 27 min.
Friday, November 4, 6:00; Saturday, November 5, 8:15. T2

Pianese Nunzio 14 anni a maggio (Pianese Nunzio Fourteen in May/Sacred Silence). 1996. Italy. Written and directed by Antonio Capuano. With Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Emanuele Gargiulo, Manuela Martinelli. Conjuring the decaying beauty and chaotic rhythms of Naples, this emotionally complex tale involves a young street urchin with a beautiful singing voice and his ambiguous relationship to a priest who courageously preaches against the local Mafia. 115 min.
Friday, November 4, 8:30; Sunday, November 6, 5:30. T2

Luna rossa (Red Moon). 2001. Italy. Written and directed by Antonio Capuano. With Carlo Cecchi, Licia Maglietta, Tony Servillo. An audacious drama documenting the collapse of a powerful Mafia family. Structured in a lengthy flashback, this shocking story of Shakespearean proportions is told by a repentant member of the family as he confesses to a judge. 116 min.
Saturday, November 5, 1:00; Sunday, November 6, 1:00. T2

Polvere di Napoli (Napoli’s Dust). 1998. Italy. Directed by Antonio Capuano. With Silvio Orlando, Tonino Taiuti, Lola Pagnani. As in Vittorio De Sica’s famous 1954 film L’Oro di Napoli (Gold of Naples), Naples is the true protagonist here, only for Capuano the focus is more prosaic. Five episodes express different aspects of the city, creating a picture that belongs not to postcard stereotypes but to lives lived at the edges of civilized society. 100 min.
Saturday, November 5, 4:00; Sunday, November 6, 3:30. T2

La guerra di Mario (Mario’s War). 2005. Italy. Written and directed by Antonio Capuano. With Valeria Golino, Marco Greco, Andrea Renzi. When eight-year-old Mario is taken into temporary custody by a seemingly content couple, he is thrown into new and unfamiliar surroundings. As relief from solitude and displacement Mario creates his own world, where he meets Schad Sky, an imaginary playmate. U.S. premiere. 97 min. Print courtesy Fandango and The Works, Ltd.
Saturday, November 5, 6:00 (introduced by Capuano and Golino). T2

Mario’s War

The 15th Annual N.I.C.E. Film Festival (New Italian Cinema Events) will take place at the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street, (T 212-255-2243), from Friday, November 11th through Thursday, November 17th. Tickets are available at the box office and are priced at: Adults: $9.50, Pass: $55.00; Seniors, Students and IIC Members: $6.50, Pass: $35.00. For more information: www.quadcinema.com or www.nicefestival.org AND www.MOMA.org.