Social & External
The people behind it
When Australian artist Eolo Bottaro revives the lost Triform Goddess Isis, Polizzi's forgotten history revives. This gripping documentary captures the statue's creation, the town's awe, and the artist's unexpected bond with the Sicilian town.
Fabrizio, Dante and Roberto have 14 years old and they live in Palermo in the ZEN. How is their life, their universe?
January 6, 1980. President of the Sicily Piersanti Mattarella is going to Mass with his family when a young man approaches his car and shoots him in cold blood, killing him. The young Deputy Prosecutor on duty that day is Pietro Grasso, future General Anti-Mafia Prosecutor and President of the Italian Senate. His investigations are continued by Giovanni Falcone, who uncovers dangerous connections between the Mafia, the ruling Christian Democratic Party, neo-fascist terrorists, and secret services.
An Eritrean woman working in Palermo (Sicily) as a cultural mediator also brings her idea of self-determination to her relationship with her foster son, which proves particularly difficult.
The life of Giuseppe, Maria, and their friends growing up in the charming Sicilian village of Villabate, which evolves over generations.
Testimonies of young women, the jealousy of their boyfriends, the indifference of their fathers, the intransigence of the stereotypes that pass through them. 10 episodes of an experimental web-series on sexism and gender violence, born immediately after the rape in Palermo in July 2023 in an attempt to build a counter-narrative that demystifies the macho and misogynistic mythologies of the media and the collectives, against the backdrop of anthropological considerations on “men who hate women”. Disturbing, percussive and pounding like all the works by canecapovolto, a place in which to penetrate the problem and extract its roots for a greater understanding of things. The series is copyright-free, it can be freely reshared by anyone.
Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia began a long battle against the ruthless Cosa Nostra when she first photographed the sinister scene of a brutal murder. Documenting the barbaric rule of the Italian Mafia, she was an unwavering witness to its crimes. Her art and courage helped end the horrific and bloody reign of the Corleonesi clan.
Letizia Battaglia (1935–2022) stands among the greatest figures of Italian social documentary photography. At nearly forty, this mother of three left everything behind to become a photojournalist and started working for the newspaper L’Ora. She captured her native Palermo with rare intensity, documenting both the brutal grip of the Cosa Nostra on the city and the everyday lives of its inhabitants with a focus on women and children. A committed activist, she became politically involved in the fight against the mafia during the 1980s. In this intimate portrait, Letizia Battaglia tells her story through her most iconic photographs. Through her gaze, at once tender and piercing, the full complexity of Palermo comes to light.
The story of how Sicilian Mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta (1928-2000), the Godfather of Two Worlds, revealed, starting in 1984, the deepest secrets of the organization, thus helping to convict the hundreds of mafiosi who were tried in the trial held in Palermo between 1986 and 1987.
Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 2017. Twenty-five years after the murders of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone, on May 23, 1992, and Paolo Borsellino, on July 19, 1992; and on the occasion of the tributes held in memory of both heroes, skeptical photographer Letizia Battaglia, chronicler of their titanic combat, criticizes the opportunism of shady characters who, like businessman Ciccio Mira, profit from the commemoration of both tragedies.
Among the narrow alleys of Via Panneria and Piazza Monte di Pietà, in the ancient heart of Palermo, the echo of a miracle still resonates. Here in 1624 lived Vincenzo Bonelli: grief-stricken by the plague, he climbed Mount Pellegrino to end his life. Saint Rosalia appeared to him, entrusting her relics to save the city. Where her first votive shrine stood, a timeless devotion endures. For over a century, alongside Palermo's official Festino, this neighborhood has celebrated its intimate 'Festinello'—a visceral experience blending pure devotion with the warmth of 'schiticchielli' (traditional street banquets). Today, only about twenty people keep this tradition alive. This documentary tells the story of their poetic resistance as guardians of an invaluable cultural heritage. It is a vibrant hymn to life, memory, and community: 'Viva Palermo and Santa Rosalia!'
The documentary explores the outskirts of Palermo through the lens of photographer Francesco Faraci, whose work paints a portrait of the “out-of-focus cities”—areas that have long been marginalized, exploited, and rarely the recipients of adequate investment. This structural neglect has contributed to the entrenchment of conditions of decay, poverty, and a lack of opportunities, fostering the rise of power structures alternative to the state, foremost among them the mafia. Through the story of his own experiences in Sicily’s suburbs, the photographer reflects on possible strategies for regenerating these places, highlighting how they still represent spaces capable of preserving a human and relational authenticity that has progressively disappeared from urban centers.
In Palermo (Italy), a group of supporters found a grassroots football club to oppose the commercial model of modern football and return the game to its community, while the daily lives of members, players, and volunteers intertwine through personal sacrifices, dreams, and resistance.
Palermo, Sicily, 1984. Examining magistrate Giovanni Falcone allies with Tomasso Buscetta, a former mobster, to defeat the clan of Corleone, the ruthless Mafia faction that rules Cosa Nostra with an iron hand, cruelly eliminating all those who dare to oppose its immense power: other criminals, policemen, judges, even innocent civilians. One of them wants revenge, the other wants justice. But only one can survive such an unequal fight.
Casanova, a young patriot in 18th-century Sicily, upon learning that his father and sister have been murdered, returns to Palermo and engages in guerilla tactics against the forces of the Governor. Lady Bianca, the Governor's daughter, is in love with one of the patriots, Lorenzo, and desires to escape from the palace. Her lady-in-waiting, Zanetta, enlists the aid of Casanova and he rescues them and takes them to the partisan's camp. The rebels are victorious. Lady Bianca makes plans to marry Lorenzo, and Casanova and Zanetta have similar plans.
After a long and terrible journey, Nasìr arrives in Italy, where he has the chance to fulfill his big dream and be admitted to a prestigious cooking school. To do so, he will have to cook the most important dish of his life. A dish that, behind a recipe, tells a story.
As Garibaldi's troops begin the unification of Italy in the 1860s, an aristocratic Sicilian family grudgingly adapts to the sweeping social changes undermining their way of life.
In 1990s Palermo, Pino Puglisi is a priest from the neglected Brancaccio neighborhood dedicated in helping kids to get off the streets and creating an embracing place of hope and solidarity in his church, which means trouble for the local Mafia. He continues his solitary fight until the bitter end.
Naples, Trajan's district. Initially it was intended for the inhabitants of the shantytowns on the seafront of Naples, who were homeless after the war. But it soon became a kind of ghetto. Alessandro and Pietro are two teenagers who film with an iPhone to tell their difficult neighborhood, their daily life, the friendship that binds them.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
The life of a dying young man at the short age of only forty-one after playing the lead in Il postino. He was a brilliant stage actor before becoming an astonishing film director.
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
To mark the recent thirtieth anniversary of Sergio Leone’s death, this documentary sets out to pay tribute to one of the great legends of world cinema. The singular artistic vision of Sergio Leone has transcended national borders, creating the Spaghetti Western genre and transforming the international cinematic panorama forever with his innovative stylistic and narrative solutions, which have now become part of the language of the movies. The film, which is enriched with precious archive footage from the Cineteca di Bologna, including rare audio recordings and film clips shot behind the scenes, sees for the first time the direct participation of the Leone family and has interviews both with Leone’s longtime collaborators and with icons of Hollywood who have been profoundly influenced by his work.
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
Capturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
A behind the scenes look into George Romero's groundbreaking horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
