22/04/2013 - Season will screen neorealist classics and precursors to the movement

Through the entire month of May, the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank will present The Roots of Neorealism, a season of films that helped inspire the Italian Neorealism movement. Neorealism was a politically committed reaction to the glossy Hollywood-influenced films approved by Mussolini’s regime, determined to take cameras to the streets to capture the real Italy.

Globally, the movement started earlier and the season will showcase examples of neorealist cinema such as An Inn in Tokyo (Yasujiro Ozu, 1935), People On Sunday (Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, 1929) and Man Of Aran (Robert Flaherty, 1934). The season will also include several notable neorealist Italian films including Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948), Rome, Open City (Roberto Rosssellini, 1945) and the newly restored Journey To Italy (Roberto Rosselini, 1953 - photo), which will be re-released by the BFI on May 10.

Season curator Pasquale Iannone said, "This short season, as well as including several notable neorealist pictures, offers a very rare opportunity to savour works from around the world that helped lay the groundwork for neorealist cinema. Stretching across the silent and sound eras, the films range from historical dramas to chronicles of the everyday lives of characters young and old. Many were direct influences, others can be said to be neorealist ante litteram in both content and form."

On May 7, Iannone will chair a panel discussion that will trace the roots of neorealism.