PAISAN (1946)
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Randwick Ritz, Sydney:
2:00 PM
Sunday May 04
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
08:15 PM
Monday May 12
Rating: M
Duration: 126 minutes
Country: Italy
Language: English, German, Italian with English subtitles
Cast: Carmela Sazio, Maria Michi, Gar Moore, Dots Johnson
Director: Roberto Rossellini
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
2:00 PM
Sunday May 04
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
08:15 PM
Monday May 12
Rating: M
Duration: 126 minutes
Country: Italy
Language: English, German, Italian with English subtitles
Cast: Carmela Sazio, Maria Michi, Gar Moore, Dots Johnson
Director: Roberto Rossellini
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
4K RESTORATION – AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
“…a milestone in the expressiveness of the screen. … it is not an ordinary film—neither in form nor dramatic construction nor in the things it has to say. In some ways, it is the antithesis of the classic "story film," and certainly it throws off glints of meaning which are strangely unfamiliar on the screen.” – Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Roberto Rossellini’s follow-up to his breakout Rome, Open City was the ambitious, enormously moving Paisan (Paisà), which consists of six episodes set during the liberation of Italy at the end of World War II, and taking place across the country, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley. The incidents which supposedly occurred during the Allied war campaign in Italy—random incidents, with no connection, except by war— allows Rossellini “to construct a terrifying picture of the disillusion, the irony, the horribleness of strife.” With its documentary-like visuals and its intermingled cast of actors and non-professionals, Italians and their American liberators, this look at the struggles of different cultures to communicate and of people to live their everyday lives in extreme circumstances is equal parts charming sentiment and vivid reality.
Introduced by Gino Moliterno at Ritz Cinemas and Cristóbal Escobar at Lido Cinemas
Presented with the support of IIC Sydney and IIC Melbourne.
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“…a milestone in the expressiveness of the screen. … it is not an ordinary film—neither in form nor dramatic construction nor in the things it has to say. In some ways, it is the antithesis of the classic "story film," and certainly it throws off glints of meaning which are strangely unfamiliar on the screen.” – Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Roberto Rossellini’s follow-up to his breakout Rome, Open City was the ambitious, enormously moving Paisan (Paisà), which consists of six episodes set during the liberation of Italy at the end of World War II, and taking place across the country, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley. The incidents which supposedly occurred during the Allied war campaign in Italy—random incidents, with no connection, except by war— allows Rossellini “to construct a terrifying picture of the disillusion, the irony, the horribleness of strife.” With its documentary-like visuals and its intermingled cast of actors and non-professionals, Italians and their American liberators, this look at the struggles of different cultures to communicate and of people to live their everyday lives in extreme circumstances is equal parts charming sentiment and vivid reality.
Introduced by Gino Moliterno at Ritz Cinemas and Cristóbal Escobar at Lido Cinemas
Presented with the support of IIC Sydney and IIC Melbourne.

THE RESTORATION
Source: Coproduction Office, Germany
Restored in 2013 by Cineteca di Bologna, CSC – Cineteca Nazionale, Coproduction Office at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, with the support of Cinecittà.
Director: Roberto Rossellini; Production Company: O.F.I with the collaboration of F.F.P.; Producer: Roberto Rossellini with the participation of Rod Geiger; Script: Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini, Marcello Pagliero, Alfred Hayes, Roberto Rossellini, Rod Geiger, Klaus Mann; Photography: Otello Martelli; Editor: Eraldo Da Roma; Music: Renzo Rossellini.
Cast: Carmela Sazio (Carmela), Robert Van Loon (Joe), Benjamin Emanuel (Sarge), Dots Johnson (Joe), Alfonsino (Pasquale), Maria Michi (Francesca), Gar Moore (Fred), Harriet White (Harriet), Renzo Avanzo (Massimo), Giulietta Masina (Major’s Daughter)
Italy | 1946 | 126 Mins | 4K DCP | B&W | Italian, English, German with English subtitles | UC15+
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Restored in 2013 by Cineteca di Bologna, CSC – Cineteca Nazionale, Coproduction Office at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, with the support of Cinecittà.
Director: Roberto Rossellini; Production Company: O.F.I with the collaboration of F.F.P.; Producer: Roberto Rossellini with the participation of Rod Geiger; Script: Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini, Marcello Pagliero, Alfred Hayes, Roberto Rossellini, Rod Geiger, Klaus Mann; Photography: Otello Martelli; Editor: Eraldo Da Roma; Music: Renzo Rossellini.
Cast: Carmela Sazio (Carmela), Robert Van Loon (Joe), Benjamin Emanuel (Sarge), Dots Johnson (Joe), Alfonsino (Pasquale), Maria Michi (Francesca), Gar Moore (Fred), Harriet White (Harriet), Renzo Avanzo (Massimo), Giulietta Masina (Major’s Daughter)
Italy | 1946 | 126 Mins | 4K DCP | B&W | Italian, English, German with English subtitles | UC15+
