The Neo-Realism moment - Images that have made the history of Italian cinema

The Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles pays homage to one of the most important eras in the history of Italian cinema with a photographic exhibition entitled “The Neo-Realist Moment: Film Frames 1941- 1952.”
With 37 touching images extracted from Italian Neo-Realist films, the black and white photos on display range from the unforgettable Anna Magnani in the final scene of Rossellini’s Roma Città Aperta (Rome, Open City) to the desolate gaze of Lamberto Maggiorani in De Sica’s Ladri di Biciclette ( Bicycle Thief).

The exhibit, made possible by the Archivio fotografico e iconografico della Cineteca Nazionale, was welcomed with enthusiasm in Italy. Now it is about to arrive in Los Angeles to make the visitors relive the great era of the Italian Neo-Realist Cinema as well as the power of an artistic movement that has been testimony of the Italian reality post WW2. The Opening Night is scheduled for September 27th at 7:00 PM and the exhibition will be
open to the public starting September 29th.

Additionally on display, “Memories of Sicily: 1940-1942” by photographer Giacomo Pozzi Bellini, a rare testimony of Sicily in the 40’s which reveals the archaic and rural character of the island at that time.
A special screening of the short film La Ricotta (The Curd Cheese) by Pier Paolo Pasolini will also accompany the Opening Night.

Under the auspices of the Consulate General in Los Angeles, the exhibit is part of a wider project on Neo-Realism organized by the Italian Cultural Institute, Cinecittà Luce S.p.A, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and UCLA Film and Television Archive. For this reason it will be presented in conjunction with “Days of Glory: Masterworks of Italian Neo-Realism”, a series of screenings organized by UCLA Film and Television Archive. For more information about the event visit visit www.iiclosangeles.esteri.it, www.cinema.ucla. edu and www.lacma.org