Lord of the Ants
Il Signore Delle Formiche | Lord of the Ants
Italian Film Festival 2023
- Sun 11 Jun 2023
- 3—5:15PM
- Len Lye Cinema
- Rating: M
- Face coverings optional
- General $17
- Concession $12 for seniors, students, gallery friends and community service card holders (with valid ID)
- Booking recommended
- As there is no allocated seating doors open 15 minutes before screenings, please come early to avoid disappointment
- To minimise disruption no admittance to cinema 10 minutes after session starts
- Hearing loop provided for the hearing impaired
- Wheelchair spaces available. Free entry for a companion to assist an audience member who has a disability. Companion seat is automatically allocated when a wheelchair space is booked.
Screening direct from Venice competition, the powerful new drama from Gianni Amelio recounts the controversial trial of Aldo Braibanti, an intellectual whose relationship with a male student caused a nationwide scandal.
Director Gianni Amelio is one of Italy’s most awarded filmmakers, with Nominations for Academy Awards and a Cannes Grand Jury prize among his accolades.
In Lord of the Ants, he turns his attention to dramatic events in Italy in the 1960s. Poet and playwright Aldo Braibanti was sentenced to prison for his relationship with a much younger
male lover, Ettore. Applying laws that date back to the Fascist era, the prejudices, injustices and hypocrisy of both the judicial system and the society begin to emerge during his trial.
Lone journalist Ennio (played by Elio Germano) must piece together the events and avoid the web of secrecy and potential censorship that conspire to silence the truth. This is the work of a
master storyteller, clear-sighted with superb performances driving the narrative. I found this story to be profoundly affecting.
- Paolo Rotondo
Awards / Premi Winner / Gianni Amelio, Brian Award for Best New Young Actor,
Best Camera Operator, Venice International Film Festival 2022
Nominated / Golden Lion, Queer Lion Venice International Film Festival 2022
“Post-Berlusconi Italy has miles to go before dealing with its homophobic past and “Lord of the Ants” may mark an important historical reckoning. There are beautiful elements here…”
- Jude Dry. - IndieWire
Lord of the Ants