SILVER

[IL SIGNORE DELLE FORMICHE]
Italy, 1968. Ettore (newcomer Leonardo Maltese) has run off to Rome with his older mentor and lover, the poet, playwright and intellectual Aldo Braibanti (Luigi Lo Cascio, THE BEST OF YOUTH, THE TRAITOR). Ettore's oppressively conservative mother and jealous brother, himself a former protege of Aldo, press charges against Aldo and have Ettore committed to a psychiatric hospital to undergo brutal conversion therapy. Using a Fascist-era anti-gay law, they accuse Aldo of plagiarism — leading Ettore morally astray. Aldo chooses to represent himself in court, where he is forced to defend every aspect of his life, from his art to his sexuality. Thanks to the steadfast reporting of a local journalist (Elio Germano, BAD TALES, HIDDEN AWAY), Aldo's case becomes a cause celebre in a repressive and homophobic society. Veteran filmmaker Gianni Amelio (Academy Award® nominee OPEN DOORS) fashions a handsome period biopic-turned-impassioned courtroom drama brimming with contemporary resonance, which premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. Official Selection, 2022 Busan, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago film festivals. DIR/SCR Gianni Amelio; SCR Edoardo Petti, Federico Fava; PROD Beppe Caschetto, Simone Gattoni. Italy, 2022, color, 134 min. In Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Member passes accepted.