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Now Playing
| 3rd Annual Italian Retrospective: Pupi Avati |
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Meet filmmaker Pupi Avati and his producer brother Antonio Avati on September 19-20.
One of the most evocative filmmakers of contemporary Italian cinema, director Pupi Avati was born in Bologna in 1938, studied at the University of Florence, and joined a jazz band as clarinetist. Avati shot his first film in 1968 and also engaged in scriptwriting and production. During his prolific career (33 films), this eclectic and independent director has embraced several genres: thriller, comedy, epic, and psychological drama. He collaborated as scriptwriter with Pier Paolo Pasolini on Sįlo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Many of Avati´s films blend humor and melancholy, and he mainly draws inspiration from personal experience and a keen interest in ordinary people. Avati is a master of creating uncanny atmospheres in his suspense thrillers, often marketed as horror films, although he avoids special effects and graphic violence. Often compared to the French director Franēois Truffaut, Avati has steadily refused the intrusion of politics and ideologies in his cinema. Their films neither develop a thesis nor encode a message, an attitude that could be defined as heretical in times of highly politicized cinema and literature. They also share an empathetic, non-judgmental attitude toward their characters and frequent incursions into thriller territory. —Luisetta Chomel, Professor Emerita of Italian at the University of Houston
Made possible by Cinecittą International, a division of Cinecittą Holding; the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Consulate General of Italy in Houston (Cristiano Maggipinto, consul general); Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles (Francesca Valente, director); the Italian Film Commission (Paola Bellusci, director); Hotel Granduca Houston; and Ferrari Maserati and Vespa of Houston.
Additional thanks to Rita Impumi, office of the Consulate General of Italy in Houston; Adrienne Mancia and Molly Gross, BAM Cinematek; Federica Terzulli, Cinecittą; Giorgio Borlenghi; Giuseppe Risi; and Luisetta Chomel, who provided the series introduction and film descriptions.
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The House with Laughing Windows
La Casa dalle finestre che ridono
1976, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
Introduced by Luisetta Chomel
A young man commissioned to restore a fresco of St. Sebastian´s martyrdom unchains ...
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Show Times:
Friday, September 5 7:00 PM
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The Knights of the Quest
I Cavalieri che fecero l´impresa
2001, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
After the disastrous Seventh Crusade at the end of the 13th century, a small group of ...
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Show Times:
Saturday, September 6 7:00 PM
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A School Outing
Una Gita scolastica
1983, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
An old photograph reminds Laura of a school outing, a three-day walking tour led by Professor ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 7 5:30 PM
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Christmas Present
Regalo di Natale
1986, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
This psychological drama revolves around a poker game played by four friends, who try to rip ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 7 7:15 PM
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The Three of Us
Noi tre
1984, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
Avati depicts Mozart during his first trip, in 1770, to Italy, where he enrolled in the ...
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Show Times:
Saturday, September 20 9:30 PM
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Revenge of the Dead
Zeder
1983, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
According to archaeologist Paolo Zeder, "K-Zones" are geological sites where time is suspended and the dead ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 21 3:00 PM
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Graduation Party
Festa di laurea
1985, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
A baker agrees to organize a graduation party for the daughter of an upper-class woman he ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 21 1:00 PM
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Stars in the Ditch
Le Strelle nel fosso
1979, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
"[In this] 18th-century-set tall tale, a father and his sons fall in love with a young ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 21 5:00 PM
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A Midsummer Night´s Dance
La Via degli angeli
1999, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
Bologna´s countryside in the 1930s of isolated farmsteads, villas, and mountain paths offers the perfect scenery ...
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Show Times:
Monday, September 22 7:00 PM
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The Heart is Elsewhere or Incantato
Il Cuore altrove
2003, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
Introduced by director Pupi and producer Antonio Avati
This psychological drama offers a perceptive portrait of Nello, ...
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Show Times:
Friday, September 19 7:30 PM
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The Story of Boys and Girls
Storia di ragazzi e di ragazze
1989, Italian with English subtitles
Directed by Pupi Avati
Introduced by director Pupi and producer Antonio Avati
One of the few Avati titles to receive worldwide ...
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Show Times:
Saturday, September 20 7:00 PM
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Bix
1991, Italian
Directed by Pupi Avati
Avati´s love for jazz finds its full expression in this celebration of talented jazz musician Bix ...
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Show Times:
Sunday, September 21 7:00 PM
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Be sure to check back for additional screenings or changes in the Films schedule. You can also contact us with questions about future films at film@mfah.org.
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