Italian Screens opens Beijing edition with four new films

Italian Screens — New Italian Cinema in Beijing, a project promoting the overseas influence of Italian films, launched its Chinese edition on Thursday in Beijing and will screen four new titles until Sunday.

The opening film, Heads or Tails?, earned directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis the Best Director award at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. Set in the early 20th century, it tells the story of Rosa, a French woman abused by her violent landowner husband. After she shoots and kills him, she escapes into the mountains with a cowboy, and their journey ends with an unexpected twist.

The other three movies are Sweetheart, about a young boy's summer adventure in his aunt's mysterious Sicilian house; Familia, which explores a young man's struggle to break free from the violence that haunts his family; and The Tasters, a historical feature about seven women forced to taste Hitler's food to check for poison. 

Federico Roberto Antonelli, cultural counselor at the Italian embassy in China and director of Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing, expressed his hope that through these four films, Chinese audiences can experience the continuous innovation of Italian cinema and filmmakers' unique way of telling stories about the world.