Valia Santella

Writer

May 24, 1965 (61 years)

Napoli

Biography

No biography available.

Filmography

7.7

The Art of Joy

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.

7.9

Prima di noi

No description available

5.7

Red Istanbul

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.

7.6

The Traitor

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.

6.2

Elisa

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.

7.9

La Sposa

No description available

6.6

Mia madre

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

6.3

Three Floors

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

6.2

Naples in Veils

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.

6.5

Sweet Dreams

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…

7.0

A Brighter Tomorrow

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.

6.6

Honey

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.

6.5

Euphoria

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.

7.0

The Inner Cage

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.

4.7

Nina

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.

5.8

Armandino e il Madre

An italian short comedy

5.4

Pericle

A failed porn actor, working as an enforcer for a mafia kingpin, finds himself confronted with an all-out turf war after an errand goes drastically wrong. Going on the run is his only option.

6.2

Don't Waste Your Time, Johnny!

In 1976, Faustino, an aspiring guitarist wasting away his teenage years in a sleepy town, gets what could be his big break when he joins the summer tour of a washed-up maestro from the big city.

8.3

Te lo leggo negli occhi

Naples. Margherita, a singer who has always been distracted from her husband and daughter Chiara, is experiencing a profound existential crisis as she approaches her sixties. Life is not easy for Chiara either, given her conflictual relationship with Lucia, the daughter she had with a partner who is now expecting another child with a new girlfriend. When Lucia is with her grandmother, she savors the taste of freedom, and Margherita has the relationship with her granddaughter that she was unable to have with Chiara.

4.8

Io, Rom Romantica

Gioia has just turned 18 and according to her Romani parents it's time for them to marry her off to a suitable boy. But as an independent young woman, Gioia's more attracted to the gadjos (non-Romani) life on offer in contemporary Italy.