"Mid-August Lunch"

(2008)  PG-13 equivalent rating, 75 minutes.  In Italian with English subtitles. 

Winner of the Best Italian Film at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. 

Gianni Di Gregorio directs and stars in this charming tale of great food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Italian holiday.  In Rome, Gianni leads a lazy life; armed only with a glass of wine and a wry sense of humor, his only job is caring for his 93 year-old mother in their small and ancient condominium apartment.  Gianni hasn't paid the condo fees in years and the association members want him and his mother evicted.  The building administrator pays Gianni a visit on a hot summer day and makes him an offer.  The administrator wants to leave the city for Ferragosto, a mid-August tradition, and asks to leave his mother in Gianni's care in exchange for writing off some of the debt.  Gianni and his mother agree to do it, but the administrator returns not only with his mother, but with his aunt as well.  To make matters worse, Gianni's doctor pays him a visit a short time later and asks the same favor.  Thus, the mild-mannered Gianni is faced with the challenge of keeping four lively and demanding elderly ladies well-fed and happy in the cramped quarters of the apartment until the holiday is over. 

The Colonial Italian American Organization (C.I.A.O.) and the Library present these modern Italian film classics.  Admission is free and open to all. No reservations needed.  A reception follows each film in the Gallery.

View a trailer for this film.