The Centro Culturale Italo-Sud Africano (CCIS) in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg host the third annual Johannesburg Italian Film Festival at Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank this weekend. This year the festival showcases films starring acclaimed Italian actor Raoul Bova (best known to foreign audiences for his roles in Hollywood films Under the Tuscan Sun, All Roads Lead to Rome and The Tourist).

Fri Nov 10
17:30 Lo l’Altro / Me The Other (2006)
Giuseppe (Raoul Bova), a Sicilian fisherman, and Yousef (Giovanni Martorana), an exiled Tunisian, share a friendship, a fishing business and 'Medea' the vessel on which they ply their trade. While at sea Giuseppe hears a radio broadcast about a wanted terrorist with Yousef’s name and in a fit of paranoia locks his friend up in the ship's cabin. A gripping and claustrophobic thriller set at sea that plays with the fears of the post-9/11 generation.

14:30 La Finestra di Fronte / Facing Windows (2003)
A young married couple whose relationship is hitting the rocks take in an old man struggling to remember his past. As Giovanna and her husband continue to grow ever more estranged from each other, the old man's moral diginity remains the one thing left that holds Giovanna back from embarking on an affair with her handsome neighbour.

Sat Nov 11
14:30 Sbirri / Cops (2009)
A documentary drama based on a true story. After his son dies from an ecstasy overdose, a well-known TV journalist decides to follow the drug squad in their fight against drug trafficking in Milan. Filmed in a verite style the movie follows this grieving parent on a journey into the dangerous Italian underworld.

17:30 I Siciliani / The Sicilians (2017)
A documentary film by Francesco Lama that looks at the complex identity of the people of Sicily. Seeking to move beyond the indifference to corruption, mafia and other problems that have marred the island, Lama's film instead highlights the traditions, food and rich multi-cultural heritage that make Sicily one of the Mediterranean's most compelling destinations.

Sun Nov 12
14:30 Sei mai stata sulla luna / Have You Ever Been to the Moon (2015)
Guia is 30 years old, she works in a prestigious international fashion magazine, she drives a convertible, she travels by private jet and lives between Milan and Paris. She has everything, or at least she thought she had it all, until she finds herself in a remote village in Apulia where she starts falling for Renzo, a handsome local farmer.

17:30 Scusate se esisto / Do you see me (2014)
In this gender-bending comedy an accomplished and well-traveled architect returns home to Italy to find work, quickly discovering that her native country is not as open-minded about her abilities as a strong, professional female. Initially, she struggles to find a job she truly loves and is passionate about before realising that if she passes herself off as a man, she might have more success.