Calling all cinema lovers, you will want to make sure that you diarise the dates of 8 – 10 November to join in all the fun with The 5th annual Johannesburg Italian Film Festival (JIFF).

Expect new comedies by contemporary Italian directors when it returns to Rosebank Cinema Nouveau.

“Our theme for this year’s JIFF is ‘next generation’  Italian cinema, and as such we will be screening recent  comedies by exciting new talent,” says curator of the  festival, Claudio Coci. ‘Thanks to the generous assistance and support of the  office of the Consulate General of Italy in  Johannesburg and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in  Pretoria, JIFF will be flying out acclaimed Italian  director Andrea Magnani to open the festival. His most recent film, ​ Easy un Viaggio facile facile, received various nominations at the 2018 Venice Film  Festival.’

Coci adds “It will be screened at the opening evening of  JIFF, where Andrea will be on hand to answer  questions from the audience, and again to the public  over the weekend. Italian cinema is one of the oldest and most influential  in the world, so it is with great pride that we are able to  showcase these contemporary artists in South Africa.”

JIFF takes place at Rosebank Cinema Nouveau and entry is free, on a first-come first-served basis. Films  will be screened in Italian with English subtitles.

Please see the 2019 schedule below:

Friday 8 November, 2.30pm  Io C’e (Just Believe) – Alessandro Aronadio

Friday 8 November, 5.30pm  Un Viaggio Facile Facile (Easy) – Andrea Magnani

Saturday 9 November, 2.30pm  Contromano (Against the Flow) – Antonio Albanese

Saturday 9 November, 5.30pm  Smetto quando voglio (I Can Quit Whenever I Want) – Sydney Sibilia

Sunday 10 November, 2.30pm  Come un gatto in tangenzaile (Like a cat on a highway) – Riccardo  Milani

Sunday 10 November, 5.30pm  A casa tutti bene (There’s no place like home) – Gabriele Muccino

For more info on the films and the festival, visit ​the JIFF website here…