One hundred years after his birth and nearly fifty years after his death, the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini continue to shock and provoke audiences, a filmography defined by powerful imagery and thematic juxtapositions: the sacred and the profane, the pious and the perverse, the personal and the political. One of the most distinctive filmmakers of the 60s and 70s, and one of cinema’s most venerated auteurs, Pasolini challenged the boundaries of filmmaking, self-expression, and censorship, leaving him with a legacy of distinctive and singular work. All films in this six-film series will be presented on 35mm. Content consideration: films in this series contain sexual themes and imagery. Series at a glance: Pasolini's 1962 neorealist classic, MAMMA ROMA on 35mm, "a key transitional work for the cinematic subversive." PLUS a pre-screening wine and light bites reception, hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago • The "ecstatic" and "sublime" MEDEA on 35mm,, featuring a commanding performance from renowned opera diva Maria Callas "steeped in power, madness and revenge" • Pasolini's 1971 THE DECAMERON on 35mm, "probably the most accurate vision of peasant life during the Renaissance period ever committed to film" • Arguably Pasolini's "most lighthearted work," THE CANTERBURY TALES on 35mm is an adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's ribald tales of medieval times • The final chapter of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life is the "magical and moody" ARABIAN NIGHTS on 35mm • Pasolini's final film, which has been called "depraved, pornographic -- and brilliant, the "essential work," SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM on 35mm.
This series is made possible by and presented with generous support from, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Chicago.