
Valia Santella
Writing
Known For

Born on the 1st of January 1900 in a poor family in rural Sicily, Modesta pursues happiness since her childhood without falling victim to the constraints of society. After a tragic event that takes her away from her family, Modesta is welcomed into a monastery, where she becomes the Mother Superior’s protégé thanks to her intelligence and stubbornness. Later, she arrives at the villa belonging to the Princess of Brandiforti, where she makes herself indispensable. This relentless process of emancipation goes along with a journey of personal growth and sexual awakening, which lead her to discover and claim the right to pleasure and happiness.
The Art of Joy

Palermo, Sicily, 1980. Mafia member Tommaso Buscetta decides to move to Brazil with his family fleeing the constant war between the different clans of the criminal organization. But when, after living several misfortunes, he is forced to return to Italy, he makes a bold decision that will change his life and the destiny of Cosa Nostra forever.
The Traitor

Margherita, a director in the middle of an existential crisis, has to deal with the inevitable and still unacceptable loss of her mother.
Mia madre

Elisa, the daughter of an ordinary family, has been in prison for ten years for brutally murdering her sister. She believes she doesn’t remember what happened, but her fragmented memories begin to come into focus during meetings with the criminologist Alaoui, who is conducting a study on family homicides. The truth that emerges for Elisa is devastating—a pain that may mark the beginning of redemption.
Elisa

In a high school in the outskirts of Rome, it's the last day before the summer holidays. A literature teacher reminisces the past year and wonders what will become of the students he cared for as if they were his children.
La scuola

When her elderly mother is found dead under sordid circumstances, Delia returns to her native Naples for the first time in years to attend the funeral. Trying to piece together her estranged parent's secret life, she'll face the hidden memories that shaped her family history.
Troubling Love

Follows the lives of three families who live in a three-story building in a Roman neighbourhood.
Three Floors

Irene, nicknamed 'Miele', has devote herself to people looking for help, and tries to alleviate their suffering even when they make extreme decisions. One day she has to cope with Grimaldi and his invisible malaise.
Honey

An old film director, unhappy with the movie he's shooting about a Hungarian circus stranded in Rome during the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, faces divorce from his producer wife and other problems.
A Brighter Tomorrow

In a Naples suspended between magic and superstition, madness and rationality, a mystery envelops the existence of Adriana, overwhelmed by a sudden love and a violent crime.
Naples in Veils

No description available.
La Sposa

Orhan who lived in London for years and did not come back to Turkey agrees to help Deniz -a famous director- edit his first book. Deniz has been living in a mansion with his family which started to lose its old brightness and power. Orhan finds himself in the middle of Deniz's complicated relationships, mysterious friends and stange family members. This is the first movie of Ferzan Ozpetek which is shot in Turkey after a long time. It is also based on his own book which has the same name with the movie.
Red Istanbul

A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year-old boy. It's the chance the gangsters were waiting for to get rid of the thorn in their side. Will they be able to force the boy to accuse the priest of sexual harassment and have his reputation destroyed?
Sacred Silence

Turin, 1969. Nine-year-old Massimo’s idyllic childhood is shattered by the mysterious death of his mother. The young boy refuses to accept this brutal loss, even if the priest says she is now in Heaven. Years later in the 90s, adult Massimo has become an accomplished journalist. After reporting on the war in Sarajevo, he begins to suffer from panic attacks. As he prepares to sell his parents’ apartment, Massimo is forced to relive his traumatic past. Compassionate doctor Elisa could help tormented Massimo open up and confront his childhood wounds…
Sweet Dreams

A prison drama where an old mobster and a prison guard must find a way to coexist so that imprisonment can become less so, and perhaps reveal the paradox that is behind the very concept of captivity.
The Inner Cage

Matteo is a young successful businessman, audacious, charming and energetic. Ettore instead, is a calm, righteous, second grade teacher always living in the shadows, still in the small town from where both come from. They’re brothers but with two very different personalities. A dramatic event will force them to live together in Rome for a few months, bringing up the opportunity to face their differences with sympathy and tenderness, in a climax of fear and euphoria.
Euphoria

Nanni Moretti once again muses on the ebb and flow of life in April 1996, as he is about to become a father for the first time and finds himself unable to focus on his documentary about the upcoming general elections, where the left is heading into a rematch against Berlusconi.
Aprile

No description available.
Prima di noi

The true natures of love, commitment, and reality are called into question in this offbeat drama. One night in bed, Tomas, a magician, begins telling a story to his wife Desirè about Emma and Sal, a married couple whose love life has gone stale. In order to fire up their relationship, Emma and Sal begin playing an increasingly elaborate series of role-playing games, in which they assume different personas -- Sal saves Emma as she is tied to railroad tracks, or Emma must seduce another man to pull her husband out of debt. But the question soon arises -- are Emma and Sal real? And who really holds the power in their lives? Chimera also features Franco Nero as one of the participants in Emma and Sal's sexual fantasies.
Chimera

The contemporary architecture of Rome are at the heart of the beautifully shot and winsomely appealing Nina, which charts the oddball escapades of a young woman in a depopulated Rome during one hot summer. This heartwarming tale of a lonesome girl who teaches singing and dog-sits during her holidays on the outskirts of Rome. Its striking cinematography evokes Nina's indefinable anxiety. By opening herself up to life she conquers a vision of her future full of imagination and beauty.