The cinema of Italy has historically punched above its weight in terms of international acclaim.
This southern European country’s films have won more best foreign language Oscars (13) than any other, including world cinema favourites France and Japan.
Italy has also taken home the second most Palme d’Or awards (12) from the Cannes Film Festival.
Italian cinema is more than a century old, but I know quite a few people whose first taste of films from that part of the world came through Cinema Paradiso, which won the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 1989 (and the grand prize of the jury at Cannes a year before).
Giuseppe Tornatore’s unashamedly romantic tale is about a filmmaker who looks back fondly at his childhood in a Sicilian village, where he fell in love with cinema at the local movie house and where he struck an unlikely friendship with its gruff projectionist. It has been criticised by some cineastes for being too schmaltzy and emotionally manipulative.
But I admit to retaining a soft spot for this crowd-pleasing love letter to the art form – not least because it opened me up to checking out other films from this country whose notable contributions have included spaghetti westerns and the stylish giallo genre.