Best of Youth: New Italian Cinema at the BAM Rose Theater

A survey of great recent Italian cinema will be presented at the Bam Rose Theater from April 16—20. Italian cinema has experienced an explosion of young talent over the last ten years and these films, all by up-and-coming Italian filmmakers, affirm this creative resurgence. Curated by Fabio Ferzetti in collaboration with Filmitalia and the Italian Cultural Institute New York. All films in Italian with English subtitles.

Here's the line up:

Salty Air (L’Aria salata) (2006) 87min Wed, Apr 16 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm. Buy TicketsDirected by Alessandro Angelini. With Giorgio Pasotti, Giorgio Colangelia. Swift-paced, intensely shot, and superbly acted, this visceral film follows a prison counselor and his new case—counseling his estranged father, who is imprisoned for murder. “Proving again that emotionally riveting movies are made of imagination and not a bulging pocketbook, Alessandro Angelini’s small powerhouse Salty Air may qualify as the Italian debut of the year.”—Variety

Private (2004) 90min Thu, Apr 17 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm› Buy TicketsDirected by Saverio Costanzo. With Mohammed Bakri, Lior Miller. This gripping film, winner of the David di Donatello Award for best new director, observes a group of Israeli soldiers and a Palestinian family dealing with Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Raw camerawork and knockout performances give this “superior, suspenseful drama” (Time Out) a jarring immediacy."…distills the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a nightmarish microcosm.”—The New York Times

Three Step Dancing (Ballo a tre passi) (2003) 107min Fri, Apr 18 at 2, 6:50pm. Buy Tickets Directed by Salvatore Mereu. With Yaël Abecassis, Domenica Arba. Four vignettes in contemporary Sardinia: a group of pre-teens voyage to the sea for the first time; a reckless pilot engages a naive shepherd in a lustful afternoon; a nun leaves her convent to attend her sister’s wedding; and a feeble old man prepares dinner for a prostitute. This film has “the pace and patient, nonjudgmental gaze of a Taviani Brothers epic...” (The New York Times)

The Spectator (La Spettatrice) (2004) 100min Fri, Apr 18 at 4:30, 9:15pm. Buy Tickets Directed by Paolo Franchi. With Barbora Bobulova, Andrea Renzi. First-time director Franchi’s tale of urban alienation is worthy of Antonioni. A translator spends nights at the window watching the opposite apartment. Her obsession with this neighbor intensifies until they meet and he becomes obsessed in turn.

Sailing Home (Tornando a casa) (2001) 88min Sat, Apr 19 at 2, 6:50pm› Buy TicketsDirected by Vincenzo Marra. With Aniello Scotto D’Anutono, Salvatore Iaccarino, Giovanni Iaccarino. This “brooding, naturalistic tale” (Time Out) follows fishermen who illegally fish the waters of North Africa, risking their lives and their reputations. This throwback to neorealism boasts beautiful cinematography and well-orchestrated tension.“[T]here’s real tension on and off board and a correctively sympathetic perspective on immigration.”—Time Out London

Maximum Velocity (Velocità massima) (2002) 111min Sat, Apr 19 at 4:30, 9:15pm. Buy TicketsDirected by Daniele Vicari. With Valerio Mastandrea, Cristiano MorroniVicari, winner of the 2003 David di Donatello award for best new director, frames a coming-of-age story within the world of illegal drag racing. Claudio, a boy with a knack for cars, becomes apprentice to local mechanic Stefano who gives him shelter and friendship, but soon betrays his trust.

La Capagira (2000) 71min Sun, Apr 20 at 2, 6:50pm. Buy TicketsDirected by Alessandro PivaWith Dino Abbrescia, Gianna Giannotti, Mino Barbarese. Two small-time crooks zoom through Bari on a vespa in search of a misplaced drug shipment in this madcap comedy. Sharp direction and a side-splitting script earned Alessandro Piva the 2000 David di Donatello Award for best new director.“ A portrait of the various classes of criminal of the Italian heel town of Bari, this bears traces of sub-Jarmusch comedy, as two petty drug mules hang out waiting, not for Godot, but a crack delivery from the Balkans.”—Time Out London

One Man Up (L’uomo in più) (2001) 100min Sun, Apr 20 at 4:30, 9:15pm› Buy TicketsDirected by Paolo Sorrentino. With Toni Servillo, Andrea Renzi. Two men—a honey-voiced crooner whose relationship with a minor ruins his career and a successful footballer whose life deteriorates when he suffers an unexpected injury—lead parallel lives in this compelling drama.

Info:

Telephone: 718.636.4100

Tickets: Click the "Buy Tickets" link on individual films to purchase online.
General Admission: $11.Buy online, by phone at 718.777.FILM (theater ID #545), or at BAM Rose box office.
BAM Cinema Club Members: $7
Seniors, Students & Children: $7.50**Discounts available at BAM Rose box office only. Students: 25 & under w/ valid ID, Mon—Thu, except holidays.

A purveyor of Tuscan Ricotta in Williamsburg

The folks behind Lunetta, a Tuscan restaurant in Boerum Hill, have launched Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta. Betsy Devine, a sous chef at the the restaurant, along with Rachel Mark, studied ricotta making in Tuscany from a cheese maker in the tower-filled town of San Gimignano.

Devine and Mark make their ricotta using local cow's milk mixed with whey (the Tuscan version uses only whey). The milk is heated, curdled, mixed with lemon juice, then drained. The result is a light and creamy cheese, different (and certainly more delectable!) than what you'll find at your local grocers. Try it with some good quality honey and you'll imagine you are in Tuscany. Also try a dollop over some pasta pomodoro or on bruschetta.

You'll find Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta for sale at Blue Apron in Park Slope, Stinky Bklyn on Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg. Starting in April, it will be sold at Brooklyn Flea, the large outdoor market in Fort Greene (Sundays through early fall starting April 6, at Lafayette and Vanderbilt Avenue. It's also on the menu at Lunetta, 116 Smith Street, between Smith and Dean in Boerum Hill.

Now mangia!

OK so this isn't exactly about Italian culture but...

Contemporary pop artist Takashi Murakami will reprise his recent L. A. success, opening a Louis Vuitton store at the Brooklyn Museum as part of his upcoming major retrospective exhibition. What does this have to do with Italian culture you say? Well, Italians are known for some of the best fashion design in the world, as well as for leather... I know, I know, but this will be fun (and it will mean that the Brooklyn Museum will be a real zoo this spring:

Lots of celebrity news to accompany this story: The Brooklyn Museum will also host a gala opening for the show, featuring Kanye West and Jay-Z sign up for gala. Following the debut of the wildly popular exhibition, ©Murakami, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles last fall, the exhibition moves to the Brooklyn Museum of Art on April 5. It will contian some ninety 90 works and will be on view through July 13.

On April 3, a gala event will be held at the Brooklyn Museum. Kanye West will perform in a mini-concert, while Jay-Z will act as a co-chair.

The vaunted French Louis Vuitton brand will install a shop at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for the run of the exhibition, featuring limited-edition (read very expensive) handbags and other leather products with Murakami designs.

Speak Italian!

Interested in learning Italian? There's not much available in Brooklyn unless you are enrolled in a high school or college offering Italian courses. However, we suggest the Scuola Italiana in Greenwich Village. Classes are offered at various levels including:

Elementary (3 levels Days and Weeknights; 4 levels Saturdays)
Italian language classes are offered through a comprehensive approach, the goal enabling one to read, write and speak with equal proficiency while gaining knowledge of Italy, its culture and history. The classes are conducted in Italian with some English used in the beginning as a support. Students are trained to conceptualize in Italian rather than translate or substitute words:

Intermediate levels (3 levels Days and Weeknights; 4 levels Saturdays)
More time is dedicated to conversing, with a continued focus on pronunciation and inflection. Each new session includes a review of earlier materials. A comprehensive application of all studied grammatical and syntactical functions is employed in written work and conversation, which also emphasizes idiomatic expressions. Students are now able to compose fictional and non-fictional essays which help aid in developing vocabulary and use of structures.

Advanced levels (more than six, varied according to ability and emphasis)
The Advanced levels are not only progressively defined but also each has a specific emphasis: some focus on review of grammar and translation skills other than conversation. Others are based on conversation and reading to develop vocabulary and cultural knowledge. Placement into our advanced levels is based on the mastery and application of all previous studies. In all groups vocabulary is expanded along with more attention devoted to writing, reading essays, plays and literature. Students are encouraged to contribute material, making these classes into an ongoing seminar which can be taken over a period of time as a means of maintaining a high level of fluency in Italian. Emphasis is given to cultural studies, usage, idiomatic expressions, and studies of contemporary Italy.

The Scuola Italian also acts as a cultural center, offering events throughout the year. Upcoming events include:

March 1 BALLETTO -- IL REGALO DELL'ITALIA AL MONDO: Marco Pelle
After all, the French appropriated something born and developed in Italy and is as popular as pizza
April 12: ITALIAN GESTUALITY: Beatrice Muzi
A peep at Italian gestures from daily life to Art History, crossing the Commedia dell'Arte, exploring the illustrious Italian way of non-verbal communication, part theatrical gesture, part an encoded language in need of a key.
June 7 : ITALIAN CAFÉ: Lamberti, Mariano, Messina, Muzi, Pelle, Zannoni
A wide-ranging moderated discussion of culture, nature, history, art, cuisine, architecture, and more, like happening upon several heated and engaging discussions at an outdoor Italian café rolled into one. No smoking!

Tuition fees vary by class. For more information:
SCUOLA ITALIANA del Greenwich Village
New York's Italian language school, established 1987
240 Bleecker Street * New York, NY 10014
(212) 229-1361
bm@scuolaitaliana.org

Brooklyn's oldest restaurants ... are Italian!

Brooklyn has received lots of attention in the last few years for all its new, hip restaurants. We thought that from time to time we'd take a look at some of the real old timers, since so many are, unsurpringly, Italian.

One of Brooklyn's oldest restaurants is Bamonte's at 32 Withers St. in Williamsburg. It was opened in 1900 as the Liberty Hall by the Bamonte family, originally from Salerno. Current owner is 3rd-generation Anthony Bamonte, who maintains a long tradition. Back in the day, the restaurant featured a large catering hall and bocce courts. These days, the restaurant is as much known for its ravioli with cheese and linguini with crab sauce as for the fact that it has been the setting for scenes in such classic tv series as the Sopranos and Kojak. If you go, expect classic red-sauce Italian, stick with the basics, and soak in all that atmosphere.

Just the facts:

Bamonte's

32 Withers Street (between Lorimer St. and Union Ave.)

Brooklyn NY 11211

718.384.8831

Open Mon and Wed-Thu, noon-10:30pm; Fri-Sat, noon-11pm; Sun, noon-10pm; Tue, closed

Cards: MasterCard, Visa

Cost: entrees, $13-$20

Menu: Click Here

Subway: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.

Map: Click Here

Website: http://www.bamontesrestaurant.com/

(currently out of service)

Interpreti Veneziari Italian Chamber Ensemble to Perform in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Center of Brooklyn College will present the New York City Premiere of the Interpreti Veneziari Italian Chamber Ensemble

Experience the romance and elegance of Venice through the music of Interpreti Veneziani. This acclaimed Italian chamber ensemble has captivated audiences across the globe with their interpretations of some of the greatest works of the Baroque period. Having performed in Sweden, Australia, Japan and the Bahamas, they now make their New York City debut at Brooklyn Center, invoking the spirit of the magical city that was the birthplace of the great master Antonio Vivaldi.

Sunday, February 3, 2008 - 2pm Matinee Whitman Theatre

Tickets: $25 http://www.brooklyncenteronline.org/

The BROOKLYN CENTER Performing Arts Complex is located at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road & Hillel Place, 1 Block West of "The Junction" (the intersection of Hillel Place, Nostrand, and Flatbush Avenues)

Travel Directions by Train Bus Car
Brooklyn Center Parking Information

EZ-Find us with Google interactive map

Mario Giacomelli exhibition in New York

The Instituto Italiano di Cultura of New York has just opened an exhibition of photographs by the renowned Mario Giacomelli. Organized by the IIC's sister institute in Los Angeles, the New York presentation will be its final showing in the United States.

Born in Senigallia (Ancona) in 1925, Giacomelli began working as a typesetter at age 13. There, he discovered the world of photography, and began photographing around his hometown. Essentially a self-taught photographer, he decided to fully commit himself to phtography after World War II. Inspired by the gritty Neo-Realist films of Vittoria de Sica and Roberto Rossellini, he was drawn to an art form that offered immediacy and realistic veracity.

Although Giacomelli is one of Italy's great modern photographers, it is not yet well known in the United States. Some of the images in this exhibition are being shown for the first time in the United States. His themes are broadly universal - loneliness, old age, and death are common subjects in his work. His photos, almost always black and white, were printed to emphasize the contrasts between figures and background, thus revealing their abstract forms. Giacomelli died in 2000.

The exhibition will be on view at the Instituto Italiano di Cultura of New York through Friday, February 15, 2008

Instituto Italiano di Cultura

686 Park Avenue @ 69th Street

New York, NY 10021

tel. 212.879.4242