Enjoy seven Italian films—dramas, comedies and a documentary—a program of shorts and, for the very first time, four episodes of a TV series during the 2021 Italian Film Festival's Autumn Edition being held online from October 29 through November 20, 2021. All films are shown in Italian with English subtitles. The Italian Community thanks Barbara Klein for organizing this event. All online screenings are free. Links and codes to the screenings are sent to everyone who has subscribed to the Italian Film Festival's email list. To sign up, send an email to info@italianfilmfests.org. For further information, visit www.italianfilmfests.org

WHEN MOM IS AWAY • 10 GIORNI SENZA MAMMA
Director, Alessandro Genovesi, Comedy, 2019, 95 min.
Friday, October 29, 3 pm EDT until 3 am EDT on October 30 • available 12 hours 
Carlo and Giulia are married with three children. Carlo, completely absorbed by work, is an absent father, while Giulia, who had left her work to devote all her time to the family, is tired and stressed. When she decides to treat herself to a ten-day vacation, Carlo will be forced to be a full-time “Mr. Mom.”

OUR GHOSTS • I NOSTRI FANTASMI
Director, Alessandro Capitani, Drama, 2021, 90 min. 
Saturday, October 30, 3 pm EDT til 3 am EDT on October 31 • available 12 hours 
Valerio and his son Carlo live in the attic of their former apartment. Every time new tenants move into the apartment, they scare them away in hope of being able to return living "downstairs". Things will change when Myriam moves in.

NUDES
Director, Laura Luchetti, TV Drama, 2021, each episode is approximately 22 min. 
Based on the Norwegian drama, it tells the story of teens who must deal with consequences of their online behavior.

Episode #1 Saturday, October 30, 3 pm EDT til 3 pm EDT on October 31 • available 24 hours 
​Vittorio is a popular and successful student. His plans get derailed when he is reported to the police by Marta.
Episode #2 Saturday, November 6, 3 pm EDT til 3 pm EST on November 7 • available 24 hours 
Vittorio tries to live a normal life while in the midst of his personal drama. 
Episode #3 Saturday, November 13, 3 pm EST til 3 pm EST on November 14 • available 24 hours 
Vittorio finally apologizes to his friends and to Marta. But are his intentions honorable?
Episode #4 Saturday, November 20, 3 pm EST til 3 pm EST on November 21 • available 24 hours 
Vittorio seems to finally come to terms with his own responsibilities. 

THE BIG STEP • IL GRANDE PASSO 
Director, Antonio Padovan, Comedy, 2019, 96 min.
Friday, November 5, 3 pm EDT til 3 am EDT on November 6 • available 12 hours 
Dario and Mario, two brothers who resemble each other physically but have completely different personalities and dreams. They find themselves in the face of an impossible venture.

WELCOME VENICE 
Director, Andrea Segre, Drama, 2021, 100 min.
Saturday, November 6, 3 pm EDT til 3 am EST on November 7 • available 12 hours 
Two heirs of a family of fishermen are at odds over the unstoppable transformation that is changing the life and identity of Venice. Pietro would like to continue fishing for moeche; Alvise, instead, sees their home on Giudecca as the ideal instrument to join the real estate elite that rules the city. 
 
SHORT FILM PROGRAM • PROGRAMMA DI CORTOMETRAGGI
Comedy, Drama, Documentary, 105 min.
Friday, November 12, 3 pm EST until 3 pm EST on November 13 • available 24 hours
Eight films—Er Collera Moribbus, Lo schiacciapensieri, Giusto il tempo per una sigaretta, Gas Station, Come a Mìcono, L'armentario, La triste vita del mago, and La gita.

THE GREAT SILENCE • IL SILENZIO GRANDE 
Director, Alessandro Gassmann, Drama, 2021, 106 min.
Saturday, November 13, 3 pm EST til 3 am EST on November 14 • available 12 hours 
Villa Primic, once a luxurious home, has been put up for sale. A painful decision, taken by Rose, and reluctantly shared by the two heirs to the family's dilapidated fortune, Massimiliano and Adele. The only member of the family who is not at all happy with the decision is the head of the household, Valerio, who will discover that he has never really known his loved ones and, perhaps, not even himself.

AGALMA
Director, Doriana Monaco, Documentary, 2021, 54 min. 
Friday, November 19, 3 pm EST til 3 am EST on November 20 • available 12 hours
The daily routine at the Archaeological Museum of Naples: exhibitions are mounted, restoration projects are underway, visitors from around the world move spellbound from room to room. 

WHEN MOM IS AWAY…WITH THE FAMILY • 10 GIORNI CON BABBO NATALE
Director, Alessandro Genovesi, Comedy, 2020, 100 min.
Saturday, November 20, 3 pm EST til 3 am EST on November 21 • available 12 hours
On their way to Stockholm, Giulia, Carlo and their children meet Santa Claus. Their RV road trip gets even messier than it was at the start because nothing seems to go as planned.

The St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities proudly invites you to its 3rd Annual Italian Christmas Concert entitled Benedetta Orsi & Friends starring internationally acclaimed mezzosoprano and Bologna native, Benedetta Orsi Aquino, along with members of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and the University of Missouri - St Louis Choir. The concert will take place on Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 7PM at Christ the King Catholic Church in St Louis.

The concert will also feature Gail Hintz, piano; Jim Henry, bass; Marta Simidtchieva, cello; Thomas and Tricia Jostlein, horn; Klaus and Max Jostlein, violin & cello; and the University of Missouri - St. Louis Choir under the direction of Jim Henry.

Tickets are $15 per person. Ages 10 and younger are free. Tickets are available on Eventbrite:
https://benedetta-orsi-and-friends.eventbrite.com

A word of gratitude goes to Msgr. Mike Turek, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of St Louis and Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church for allowing us to use his beautiful church. 

Special thanks go to the following individuals and organizations for sponsoring this event: Arteco Global, World Trade Center - St Louis, Mr. Giorgio Bucci, Mrs. Kristine Galati, Mr. Vito Alu, Mr. Anthony Lancia, Sir Steven Gilroy, Mr. Jack Baumann, Guidester Travel, Mr. Kevin & Lori Rejent, and Cav. Franco & Nerina Giannotti.

​Italian mezzo-soprano Benedetta Orsi has been praised by Teresa Berganza as “perfect voice for belcanto.” She is one of the 2018 nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Opera by St. Louis Theater Circle for her Carmen, reviewed by Broadway Opera World: “Benedetta Orsi has a quite breathtakingly beautiful voice, full and rich, with such easily accessed resources of power. She gives us a simply perfect “Habanera".

Orsi is one of only a few contemporary mezzo-sopranos to have performed all three of Donizetti's Tudor Operas: Jane Seymour in Anna Bolena, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda and Sara in Roberto Devereux with Royal Opera Theater in Manchester, UK. Recent performances also include Adalgisa in Norma with Winter Opera St. Louis, the title role of Carmen with Winter Opera St. Louis, Boulder Symphony Orchestra in Colorado, and Amore Opera in New York, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera with the Miami Lyric Opera, and Maddalena in Rigoletto with Amore Opera in New York.

Her first album Christmas Around the World won the Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards in Los Angeles as Best Album and Best Female Vocalist. Her new album La Voix de l’amour, a collection of French operatic arias and art songs, was released last Winter for the international label Limen Music. Along with concert appearances at Carnegie Hall in NYC and throughout Italy, England, United States and Spain, Orsi’s performance credits include roles in Verdi's Rigoletto, Trovatore, Bellini's Norma, La Sonnambula, and Romeo and Juliet, Rossini's L’Italiana in Algeri and Il Turco in Italia and Massenet's Werther.

Benedetta is a first prize winner of the Barry Alexander International Voice Competition (IVC), First Prize and Star Performer Award in the American Protégé IVC; Third Prize Winner of the Roschel IVC, and Audience & Orchestra Award in the Boulder Music Institute IVC. In her homeland, she received the Audience Award and Special Prize of the Italian Music Federation during the 28th International Piero Boni International Singing Competition.

Orsi received her bachelor degree in Music and Voice from Modena’s Istituto Musicale Pareggiato Orazio Vecchi, pairing her studies with numerous master classes and stage workshops taught by opera luminaries such as Marilyn Horne, Luciana Serra, Teresa Berganza, and stage director Chuck Hudson. Later, she received her Master in Voice at the Regia Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna.

The Swiss-Italian film ATLAS by Niccolò Castelli will be featured at the 30th St. Louis International Film Festival from Nov 4 until Nov 21, 2021. The film is in Italian with English subtitles. 

Plot: "Telling a straightforward story in an intriguingly nonlinear fashion, ATLAS follows Allegra, a lively young woman with a passion for high-mountain climbing, as she attempts to recover from a devastating event. Allegra — played by Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who recently co-starred with Nicole Kidman in the HBO miniseries “The Undoing” — travels to Morocco to climb in the Atlas Mountains, but her trip ends abruptly when a man explodes a bomb in a coffee shop and her three friends die in the attack. Months later, unable to overcome the trauma, she returns to her city, where an encounter with Arad, a young Muslim refugee, forces Allegra to confront her fears and altered perception of reality and to heal her profound interior wounds. Swiss-Italian director Niccolò Castelli sets himself the goal of expressing, through images, sophisticated and elegant, thanks to the photography of Pietro Zuercher, the horror of an experience from which no one comes out unscathed. From this perspective, the trauma experienced by Allegra becomes a metaphor for a collective and social fear that has infiltrated our privileged society, robbing us of a tranquility that we thought was eternal.”

FILM IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

To view the film, click HERE

La XXI Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo si svolgerà dal 18 al 24 ottobre 2021 e avrà come tema DANTE, L'ITALIANO (DANTE, The Italian) in occasione del 700° anniversario della morte del Sommo Poeta.

La Comunità italiana di St Louis, insieme con il Club Italiano per piacere, St Louis Italian Language Program, e St Louis-Bologna Sister Cities, propone un ricco programma di eventi a tema dantesco.

Dal 18 al 24 ottobre sarà reso disponibile online il film muto “L’Inferno” di Francesco Bertolini, accompagnato da una sonorizzazione registrata dal vivo dal jazzista Marco Castelli. Il film, primo lungometraggio della storia cinematografica italiana, è stato a lungo disponibile solo in copie danneggiate, mutile o censurate. Dopo un lungo lavoro di restauro curato dalla Cineteca di Bologna è stato restituito alla sua prima edizione, alla corretta successione delle inquadrature, alla pienezza della sua luce e dei suoi colore. Alla proiezione seguirà un commento al film del prof. John P. Welle, massimo esperto di cinema muto negli Stati Uniti e Professore Emerito di italiano all’Università di Notre Dame.

Il 19 ottobre il professore dell’Università di Austi, Guy P. Raffa, illustrerà la sopravvivenza e la fama di Dante nella cultura contemporanea americana durante la lezione online “La fortuna americana di Dante: a lezione con Guy P. Raffa”.

Infine, dal 18 ottobre al 18 novembre saranno disponibili online: “Liszt & Dante: Una Fantasia quasi Sonata – Recital di Daniela Roma”, un video prodotto dall’Istituto Italiano di Cultura, e “Ombre”, tre video in cui i danzatori della compagnia di danza italiana “Artemis Danza” fondata e diretta da Monica Casadei, reinterpreta brani selezionati della Divina Commedia. La colonna sonora alterna musiche originali composte da Luca Vianini e brani di musica sacra di Giuseppe Verdi, intervallati dai versi più celebri di Dante. 

Cari amici,

L'estate sta finendo solo sul calendario! Vi invitiamo ad indossare scarpette e pantaloncini da ciclista e montare in sella per una fantastica biciclettata a St Louis.

BICICLETTATA
MARTEDI' 28 SETTEMBRE 2021
EVENTO GRATUITO 

15 Miglia (24 km) in totale: 7,5 miglia (12 km) al fiume Mississippi e 7,5 miglia (12 km) di ritorno alla stazione.

Orario di ritrovo per la partenza: ore 10:00.
Punto di incontro: Shrewsbury Metro Station (7201 Lansdowne Ave., St. Louis).
Seguiremo il River Des Peres Greenway. 
Punto di arrivo: Bellerive Park - Sr Marie Charles Park Trail sulle rive del Mississippi River dove ci fermeremo per riposarci, raccontarci e ci rinfrescheremo con qualche snack. Poi torneremo alla stazione.

Obbligatori per tutti: bicicletta, caschetto, borraccia d'acqua. Età minima: 12 anni.

RSVP scrivendo a stlouisitalians@gmail.com indicando nome e cognome di tutti i partecipanti.

Evviva gli italiani in bicicletta a St Louis! Vi aspettiamo, passate parola!

Join Benedetta Orsi, Italian mezzo-soprano, and the Gateway Festival Orchestra conducted by her husband Darwin Aquino for a summer concert at St Louis Music Park in Maryland Heights on Sunday, 11 July 2021 at 7:30PM. Benedetta will sing musical pieces by Rossini, Rachmaninoff, and Schonberg. Mrs. Orsi-Aquino is a board member of the St Louis-Bologna Sister Cities and a dear friend of the Italian Community of St Louis. 

Saint Louis Music Park is located at 750 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights, Missouri 63043. Attendance is free, however, it is recommended to pre-register for the concert by clicking on the following link: Women in Music Tickets, Sun, Jul 11, 2021 at 7:30 PM | Eventbrite

Siete invitati alla presentazione del libro di poesie “Terra, Acqua, Pane” di Martina Trento Dagostini al club "Italiano per piacere" di St Louis.

La presentazione si terrà via FACEBOOK LIVE, venerdì, 11 giugno alle 10,00 (CST) ovvero alle 17,00 (CET). Siete benvenuti a partecipare a questa presentazione LIVE direttamente dall'Istria. Sarete liberi di porre domande a Martina a riguardo del progetto a termine della presentazione.

CLICCA QUI PER IL LINK

Martina Dagostini è nata a Pola ed è cresciuta in un paesino non lontano dalla famosa Matterada. Tra le sue attività da menzionare la filodrammatica della Comunità degli Italiani di Matterada di cui ha fatto parte per 10 anni. Della stessa comunità è stata anche Presidente. Tra i suoi hobby troviamo la fotografia e la country line dance. "Terra, acqua, pane" è la prima raccolta poetica di Martina Dagostini, contiene poesie alle quali ha lavorato fin dai tempi della scuola e questa piccola raccolta è solo una parte dei suoi lavori che ha deciso di condividere

​Siete cortesemente invitati a un picnic gratuito per celebrare l’estate e il FERRAGOSTO a St. Louis, all’esclusivo Enterprise Pavilion nel Shaw Park di Clayton, sabato 21 agosto, dalle 16,00 alle 23,00.

Questa è una festa familiare dove tutti sono ugualmente benvenuti. Gli adiacenti campi di pallavolo e giochi per bambini sono a nostra disposizione. Ci sarà cibo a volontà, antipasti, grigliata di pollo e salsiccia; serviremo vino, birra e bibite analcoliche e siete tutti invitati a portare e condividere un piatto a vostra scelta o bevande alternative; portate quello che volete e quello che vi viene meglio.

Questo evento è gratis ma abbiamo bisogno di capire quante persone vengono per capire quante provviste dobbiamo comprare. Per favore, “prenotate” il più presto possibile. Per maggiori informazioni, potete inviare un email a: stlouisitalians@gmail.com

You are kindly invited to the 4th annual FERRAGOSTO celebration in St. Louis, at the Enterprise Pavilion at Shaw Park in Clayton, Saturday August 21, 2021, from 4:00pm to 11:00 pm.

​Ferragosto is the largest Italian summer festival of the year where all are invited to taste and see contemporary Italian culture and cuisine. The nearby sand volleyball courts and playground are available for our use. We will serve plenty of food, from antipasto to salsiccia and traditional Italian sausages (luganighe), wine, beer, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages will also be served. We ask that everyone bring a dish and/or beverage of their choice to share. The nearby sand volleyball courts and playgrounds are available for our use. 

The event is free and open to the public. For additional information, questions, or for inquiries on sponsoring the event, please send us an email: stlouisitalians@gmail.com

MUSIC - Professional DJ Carlos Suarez will play contemporary Italian music including techno, dance, and popular Italian and international hits. Make sure to stay for Italian style karaoke later in the evening so prepare yourself with a few of your favorite songs! Sarebbe meglio se potete cantare in italiano!

DRINKS - The Sorrento coast will be at Ferragosto this year! Casa Don Alfonso is providing a booth which will offer exclusive Italian cocktails. If cocktails aren't your thing, there will be plenty of wines to taste from Villa Antonio Winery, a local winery in Hillsboro, Missouri.

FOOD - Salsiccia, luganighe, other traditional Italian sausages, and antipasto platters (salumi, cheeses, olives) will be provided by Volpi Salumeria. Be sure to try a scoop of authentic Italian gelato from Gelato di Riso on the Hill.

PEOPLE TO MEET - Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano and Bologna native Benedetta Orsi will join us and, if you're lucky, she might sing a song or two. Her CDs will be available for sale throughout the event. Benedetta's husband, conductor and composer Darwin Aquino, will also be present as well as their son Riccardo. Also joining us is Sergio Chierego, Head Chef of acclaimed Casa Don Alfonso, the best new Italian restaurant in the U.S. according to Forbes Magazine. If you're interested in taking Italian classes, be sure to meet Giovanna Leopardi, director of the St Louis Italian Language Program.

THINGS TO SEE - Our sponsor Frank Leta Automotive Group will be showcasing their all new 2021 Acura NSX priced at over $150,000!

PERFORMANCES - The St Louis School of Arms will perform martial arts in the Bolognese tradition led by Ken Harding.

On Sunday, October 17th, 2021 at 8PM, Andrea Bocelli will hit the stage to deliver a moving evening of operatic magnificence and lush, romantic pop at the Enterprise Center in downtown St Louis. Expect to hear romantic opera selections from Puccini's Tosca, Verdi's La Traviata and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor alongside Broadway hits. Bocelli also takes audiences back to the early piano-bar days of his legendary career via songs from 2018's Sì, his first album of new material in 14 years. The tenor's onstage entourage includes special guests from the worlds of dance, classical music, opera and Broadway.

According to no less an authority than Celine Dion, "If God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli." Born in the Tuscan village of La Sterza in 1958, the blind tenor won his first song competition at age 14. He has subsequently released 19 albums that have sold more than 19 million copies altogether. He has won countless awards for both his opera and pop efforts and is the very definition of a crossover success.

Bocelli's studio work has included albums devoted to Giuseppe Verdi, Mediterranean love songs, sacred arias and cinematic works. He has recorded live albums in Las Vegas, Tuscany and New York City's Central Park. In 2018, he released Sì, an album of songs the golden-voiced singer describes as a "celebration of love, family, faith and hope." Bocelli's first album of new material in 14 years was recorded with rock producer Bob Ezrin and includes guest appearances from pop phenomenon Ed Sheerhan, opera soprano Aida Garifullina and his sons Matteo and Amos. It went to the top of the albums chart and has been Bocelli's most successful release in a decade.

To purchase your ticket, please click on the following link: TICKETMASTER. The Italian Community of St Louis is grateful to have obtained a private suite which can seat up to 35 people at a discount price. You can find more information concerning the discount by emailing us at: stlouisitalians@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you in person at Bocelli's St Louis premiere at the Enterprise Center. 

**OUR PRIVATE SUITE IS ALMOST SOLD OUT. INDIVIDUAL TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE AT TICKETMASTER**