Summer 2022: Rome’s piazzas are once again transformed into movie theaters thanks to the Ragazzi del Cinema America
The outdoor movie theater Cinema In Piazza returns this summer, transforming Rome’s beautiful piazzas into open-air cinemas from June 3 till July 31.
104 evenings with free admission await you in three locations: Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere, the Casale della Cervelletta in Tor Sapienza, and the Monte Ciocci Park in Valle Aurelia. The eighth edition of the festival, organized by the Piccolo America Association, offers a very rich program; special attention devoted to screenings in the original language (with Italian subtitles) honors the culture of the films by maintaining their authenticity, while simultaneously catering to the diverse tourists and residents living in Rome.
Countries from the United States to Japan, the Philippines to Chile, and both Italian and international stars are recognized: Pietro Castellitto, Carlo Verdone, Francesca Archibugi, Serena Dandini, Stefania Sandrelli, Micaela Ramazzotti, Paolo Virzì, Ascanio Celestini, Wes Anderson, Paweł Pawlikowski, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Fanny Ardant, Volker Schlöndorff, Wolfgang Becker, Iram Haq, and Mathieu Kassovitz.
This year’s film festival is unique through a first-time partnership with Cinema Troisi, which will remain open throughout the summer and host special screenings of two films just released this season: Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer” (July 4) and Leos Carax’s “Annette” (July 12)
Cinema in Piazza 2022 Screenings
PIAZZA SAN COSIMATO (June 3 – July 31)
At San Cosimato, film genres will range from the master of thrills Alfred Hitchcock to Chile’s Pablo Larraín. A longtime friend of Ragazzi del Cinema America, Francesca Archibugi will present her debut film “Mignon è partita” on Sunday, June 5, in dialogue with Serena Dandini and Stefania Sandrelli.
Saturdays will be devoted to the great cult films of Amblin Entertainment, a company founded in the 1980s by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall. Don’t miss classics like “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Gremlins,” “The Goonies,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” and “Searching for the Enchanted Valley.” “Hook – Captain Hook,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Small Soldiers” will be shown in the Italian version with English subtitles.
Also at the San Cosimato venue are two of this year’s most anticipated international encounters: on Saturday, June 11, director, screenwriter and playwright David Mamet will introduce “The House of Games.” This debut feature won best screenplay at the 1987 Venice Film Festival. On Wednesday, July 6, Wes Anderson will present “Moonrise Kingdom,” ten years after its theatrical release.
Maestro Volker Schlöndorff will introduce “Deception” (Die Fälschung) on June 10 at San Cosimato. Fanny Ardant, an icon of French cinema also beloved by Italian audiences and filmmakers, will star in “The Lady Next Door” on Friday, July 22, a film that in 1981 marked the beginning of her partnership with François Truffaut.
Switching gears, on Friday, June 17, Paralympic champion Bebe Vio, European Rugby icon Martin Castrogiovanni, and “The Hate” director Mathieu Kassovitz, a great sports lover, will introduce the screening of the documentary “Rising Phoenix – The Story of the Paralympics,” directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. Don’t forget to attend the tribute to actor and director Libero De Rienzo on Friday, July 15, one year after his death, with the screening of the 4K restoration of the film “Santa Maradona” directed by Marco Ponti.
The Trastevere screenings will conclude with Cristian Mungiu, one of the masterminds of the “New Romanian Cinema” and known for his shocking “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” at Palme d’Or in Cannes. On Friday, July 29, Cinema in Piazza in San Cosimato will present his debut feature, “Occident,” previously unreleased in Italy.
CERVELLETTA (June 9 – July 24)
For the first time together, the families of Guilio Regeni and Mario Paciolla will open Cervelletta Park on Thursday evening, June 9. This location will kickstart the summer with the Italian premiere of “The Dissident,” Bryan Fogel’s documentary dedicated to the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Cervelletta Park welcomes for the first time on Thursday, July 14, a longtime friend of Cinema in the Piazza, Carlo Verdone. After 20 years of filming, he will present his work “Ma che colpa abbiamo noi” to the public.
Cervelletta will feature the comic genius of Mel Brooks, Denmark’s Thomas Vinterberg, and Paweł Pawlikowski, whose four previously-unseen documentaries will be shown for the first time in Italy. On Thursday, June 16, with Dori Ghezzi, Luca Marinelli, Valentina Bellè, Francesca Serafini and Giordano Meacci, Cervelletta will screen the film version of “Fabrizio De André – Principe libero,” to remember the great Genoese singer-songwriter. The following week’s showing on Thursday, June 23, is dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini; director Marco Tullio Giordana and Don Ciotti will introduce one of the director-poet’s masterpieces, “The Gospel According to St. Matthew.”
Sundays will feature some of the world’s most beloved epics, including “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”
MONTE CIOCCI (June 18 – July 24)
On Saturday, June 18, the festivities at Monte Ciocci Park will begin with special attendance of director Wolfgang Becker and the screening of one of German cinema’s all-time box-office champions, “Good Bye, Lenin!” A big hit all over the world, Italy included, this film is not one to miss.
On Saturday, July 2, Cinema in the Piazza remembers Massimo Troisi on the eve of his 70th birthday: director Michael Radford and screenwriter Anna Pavignano will introduce the screening of “Il postino,” which is considered an artistic testament of the great Neapolitan actor.
At Monte Ciocci Park, audiences will rediscover the works of Francesco Rosi on his 100th birthday, thanks to the contribution of his daughter Carolina, as well as retrace the impressive careers of Leos Carax and David Fincher.
Friday evenings will be dedicated to young (at heart) movie-lovers: Monte Ciocci will feature “Shrek,” “Snow White,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Madagascar,” and “The Lion King.”
Read the full programming for each location here. All films will be shown in the original language with Italian subtitles.
Cinema in Piazza is organized by “Piccolo Cinema America,” a group dedicated to promoting culture and film. They say the goal of “Il Cinema in Piazza” is in “the contemporary involvement of the center and the suburbs” which seeks to uniquely “rebuild a sense of community, promoting a knowledge accessible to all with free and shared projections.” Additionally, Cinema In Piazza promotes the cultural importance of the event, saying “the projection does not end in the mere vision of the show, but becomes an experience of intense civil and social value.”
The event had previously been held in Piazza San Cosimato under the name “Festival Trastevere Rione del Cinema,” but faced a dispute with Rome’s deputy mayor and culture councilor, Luca Bergamo. Instead of limiting the hours, like Bergamo wanted, the event grew after being supported by well-known figures in film, such as Martin Scorsese and “Pif” Pierfrancesco Diliberto.
Now, Cinema In Piazza’s project is continuing in an even more concrete direction, seeking to unite all of Rome through film by “connecting three nerve centers [in the city] through the construction of three contemporary arenas.”
Locations:
Piazza San Cosimato – Trastevere
Monte Ciocci – Via Domizia Lucilla, 76
Casale della Cervelletta – Parco della Cervelletta in Tor Sapienza
Movie screenings at 9:15pm
Free entry, no reservation required
