Mr Rossellini,
I saw your films, ‘Rome Open City’ and ‘Paisa’, and I am truly delighted. If you are looking for a Swedish actress, who has a very good command of English, has not forgotten German yet, does not speak French very well and can only say ‘I love you’ in Italian, then I am ready to come to Italy to work with you.

With this letter, written on May 7, 1948, a very passionate acquaintance began between one of the greatest post war actresses, Ingrid Bergman, and a magnificent film maker, co-originator of Italian neo-realism, Roberto Rossellini. Bergman, who had already become famous in America after “Casablanca”,  strode into the life of a 40-year-old Rossellini and his until-then muse, Anna Magnani, triggering indignation and scandal on both sides of the ocean. Films presented in the Viaggio In Italia – Journey to Italy section are yardsticks of the talents of all three sides of this triangle, full of love and hatred.

Roberto Rossellini began his career working on documentary films made in Fascist Italy in the 1930s. In 1942 he made his debut as a director with full-length “White ship”, but a real breakthrough in his career and also in the history of the whole cinema was “Rome Open City” (1945), created in co-operation with then-unknown scriptwriter, Federico Fellini. The film, regarded today as a flagship of Italian neo-realism, was the prototype of para-documentary film with nonlinear narration. It was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the festival in Cannes and this innovative approach to film making found many followers. Anna Magnani gave a magnificent performance there, playing the role of an ordinary Italian woman living in occupied Rome, able to sacrifice everything in the name of true love.

In 1948 Rossellini made „Paisà” (nominated for the Academy Award for best writing, awarded the Silver Ribbon and the National Board of Review Awards for best director) and “Germany – year zero” (prize for the best screenplay and Grand Prix for the best director at the festival in Locarno), which, together with the masterpiece from 1945, form a neo-realist war trilogy regarded as a topmost artistic achievement in his career. In the same year Rossellini made „L’amore”, a drama film consisting of two novellas created by Jean Cocteau and Federico Fellini, both starring Anna Magnani and proving her unlimited potential of interpretation. Federico Fellini himself appeared in the second part, playing the role of St Joseph. The film was awarded the New York Film Critics Circle Award for the best foreign language film.

Since Ingrid Bergman had appeared in his life, he created such films as ”Stromboli” (1950, nominated for the Golden Lion Award in Venice), “Europe 51” (1951, nominated for the Golden Lion and awarded the International Award at the Venice Film Festival) and “Journey to Italy” (1954). In 1953 he created a novella comedy film “We, the Women”, starring his great actresses: Anna Magnani, Ingrid Bergman and Alida Valli. With this film he paid tribute to their great talents.

Our section is enriched with the screening of a restored version of Rossellini’s “Machine To Kill Bad People”. This new version had its premiere during the festival in Cannes this year.

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Roberto Rossellini (1906-1977) Italian movie director, writer and critic. One of most important founders of Italian Neorealism. In 1945 Rossellini directed “Rome, Open City”, a movie that is considered a first picture representing neorealist trend in cinema. Laureate of many film prizes, among them Grand Jury Prize in Cannes for “Rome, Open City” and Golden Lion as well as three Golden Gate prizes in San Francisco International Film Festival for “General della Rovere”.