OBSERVER: St Ali Film Festival
The largest celebration of Italian culture and film outside Italy, the St Ali Italian Film Festival, returns to cinema screens in Melbourne from September 19 to October 16, and Ballarat September 20 – October 16 in Palace cinemas.
Presented by Palace, the full 2025 line-up is being revealed, with these first highlights offering a taste of what to expect in this year’s program, which will showcase the filmmaking and acting talents of Italy’s finest.
Opening the festival is Paolo Genovese’s record-breaking hit Somebody to Love (FolleMente), a romantic comedy with an all-star cast including Edoardo Leo, Pilar Fogliati and Vittoria Puccini.
Following the global success of Perfect Strangers (IFF 16), writer/director Genovese’s latest film reveals the innermost thoughts and uncertainties of a modern Italian couple on their awkward first date.
From acclaimed filmmaker Ferzan Özpetek comes the female led drama Diamonds (Diamanti). An ode to the craftsmanship of film costume designers and seamstresses, Luisa Ranieri and Jasmine Trinca star as sisters running a couture costume design house in 1970s Rome, exploring the lives and relationships of the women working within it.
The festival Special Presentation is the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, The Mountain Bride – Vermiglio (Vermiglio).
A portrait of a family caught between tradition and modernity in the final year of WWII, writer/director Maura Delpero drew upon her own family’s past and collective memory to create this intimate drama that follows a series of consequential events.
A box office sensation in Italy, moving drama The Boy With Pink Trousers (Il ragazzo dai pantaloni rosa) features rising star Samuele Carrino. Exploring the real story behind Italy’s first publicised case of online bullying, the film garnered much attention in Italy and sparked important discussions about the issue.
Starring popular comic duo Ficarra & Picone and festival favourite Toni Servillo, The Illusion (L’Abbaglio) is a fun re-imagining of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860 campaign that unified Italy.
Directed and co-written by Roberto Andò (Strangeness IFF23) this tale blends comedy and drama to illuminate a piece of history, exploring the paradoxes of Sicilian identity.
The adventures of the Rovelli family continue in When Mum is Away … With the In-Laws (10 Giorni con I suoi). This time the family head to Puglia in the hit comedy directed by Alessandro Genovesi and starring Fabio De Luigi and Valentina Lodovini.
The full program will be announced and tickets go on sale late August. Register for updates via the festival website.
Melbourne: September 19 – October 16, The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, Cinema Nova
Ballarat: September 20 – October 16, Palace Regent Cinemas
Website: italianfilmfestival.com.au/
Cheryl Threadgold