Italy

Two decades after Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine and Bicycle Thieves, Cecilia Mangini continues to explore the theme of post-war Italy, which does not know what to do with its young generation. In her The Chant of Tiber’s Branches, Pier Paolo Pasolini—whose novel Ragazzi di Vita served as inspiration—gives voice to a grown man who looks back on his childhood in the suburbs of Rome. 

For his contribution to the omnibus film RO.GO.PA.G (1963), Pier Paolo Pasolini depicts Orson Welles making a film about the crucifixion of Jesus, while he, the cast, and the crew behave very unholy. La Ricotta is a short, apocalyptic tirade against the customs of professional filmmaking and the unchristian coldness of contemporary Christianity.

La briglia sul collo (1974) is a wonderful example of Cecilia Mangini's talent for pointed observation combined with humor and social criticism.