Italy 2002; 99 min.

A stylish memory film, Francesco Patierno's first feature is a ripe combination of poetic visuals and hard-as-nails drama. Matteo (a star-making performance from Luigi Iacuzio), 30, has been in prison for ten years. Granted a one-day leave, he heads back to his home village near Naples in order to help his dying father get his papers in order. Over the course of the next 24 hours, Matteo will reconnect with his childhood, renew ties with Rosa (Federica Bonavolontà), his secret love stuck in a marriage from hell, and, through a series of flashbacks, reflect on the fates of his closest friends, all dead through foul play or misadventure.
Pater Familias draws its power from the juxtaposition of the harsh realities of life in Matteo's village (doubly hard on women) and the lyrical visual style Patierno brings to the material. Make no mistake though, this is a film that doesn't pull its punches in its depiction of dysfunctional marriages and going-nowhere young men, men for whom violence and brutality are second nature.
(Source: Jack Vermee - Palm Springs International Film Festival)

Directed by:

Francesco Patierno

Cast:

Domenico Balsamo, Luigi Iacuzio, Federica Bonavolontà, Francesco Pirozzi, Sergio Solli, Marina Suma, Ernesto Mahieux

Screenplay:

Francesco Patierno, Massimo Cacciapuoti

Cinematography:

Mauro Marchetti

Editing:

Luca Gazzolo

Set design:

Gian Franco Danese

Costume design:

Agostino Varchi

Music:

Angelo Talocci

Producer:

Umberto Massa

Production:

Kubla Khan

Distributor:

Istituto Luce

Foreign sales:

Intramovies

• 2003 David - Italian Academy Awards: nominated for Best Directorial Debut
• 2003 Silver Ribbons - Italian Foreign Press Awards: nominated for Best First-Time Director, Best Producer, Best Editing
• 21st Turin Film Festival 2003: Best Emerging Director of the Year
• 2003 Golden Dolly: Best Emerging Director of the Year
• Berlinale 2003 - Berlin International Film Festival: Panorama
• Linea d'ombra - Salerno Film Festival 2003: Opening Night
• Festival do Rio 2003: Focus Italy
• Festival du Film Italien de Villerupt 2003: In Competition
• Guadalajara Film Festival 2004: Panorama
• Hong Kong International Film Festival 2003: International Competitions
• Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2003: Ten to Watch – Variety’s Critics’ Choice
• Lincoln Center - Open Roads 2003: Panorama
• Mostra de Valencia 2003: Panorama
• NICE - New Italian Cinema 2003: Panorama
• Palm Springs International Film Festival 2004: World Section
• Stockholm Italian Film Festival 2003
• Vancouver International Film Festival 2003: Cinema of Our Time

• Official Website
• Dossier (with trailer) and interview from Cinecittà - TamTamCinema
• Press conference from Berlinale 2003 (RealAudio; in Italian)
• Berlinale
• Palm Springs International Film Festival
• Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

About the Director:

Born in Naples in 1964, a degree in Architecture, Francesco Patierno worked as a Creative Director in a Publicity Agency. He made several institutional films, documentaries and TV programs. In 1996 wrote and directed the short film Quel giorno (That Day), in competition at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival and selected for the Nice Festival USA 1999. Between 2001 and 2002 he wrote and directed two documentaries for the RAI 3 serial C’era una volta (Once upon a time). Pater Familias is his first long feature film.
(Source: NICE)