“"It was during that terrible time and I had seen enough to feel profoundly upset and distraught; [...] I thought: 'now children really are watching us!' It was children, the shoeshine boys, that helped me make sense of it all, to understand how profound the moral destruction of the country was." These are the words of Vittorio De Sica on the harsh reality of the post-war years he would portray in Sciuscià, a masterpiece that gave birth to neorealism. We will watch it today at the Arlecchino Cinema at 4 PM, while at 12 PM there will be a Cinema Lesson dedicated to its production history. At both appointments we will be able to meet Rinaldo Smordoni, who played one of the two shoeshine boys in the film. Of course, Sciuscià isn't the only film about children gaze, purity and unique point of view among the ones screened at Il Cinema Ritrovato this year.

The Cinderella Movies is the attempt made by an improvised film crew to make a film from the famous fairy tale Cinderella. Unfortunately, for reasons of funds, the crew is reduced to the essentials, and the director and production secretary find themselves having to do everything by themselves.

As usual, Schermi e Lavagne, the education department of the Cineteca di Bologna, offers a section for our youngest cinephiles. This year we are happy to offer children the experience of a return to the cinema auditorium: for seven days, younger audiences can discover films from all eras and travel through time and space in the company of cinema from around the world. Alongside the Cinema Lumière screenings there will be workshops, meetings with industry professionals, and live shows.

Browse through the full programme of Cinema Ritrovato Kids 2021, dedicated to little cinephiles!

As tradition dictates, Cineteca di Bologna’s educational department Schermi e Lavagne has once again curated a special programme for budding film buffs, who for seven days can watch shorts and feature films from different countries and eras, participate in creative workshops organised in collaboration with the Cineteca’s archives, and attend book presentations and performances. We are especially happy that we can offer even the smallest audience members the chance to rediscover what it is like to watch a film in a cinema after such a long period without that experience.