Pure Hearts (Cuori puri)

Showings

Vogue Theatre Fri, Nov 10, 2017 4:00 PM
Film Info
Category:Competition
Country:Italy
Year:2017
Running Time:114 min.
Language:Italian
Credits
Director:Roberto De Paolis
Producer:Young Films
Rai Cinema
supported by MiBACT
Screenwriter:Luca Infascelli
Carlo Salsa
Greta Scicchitano
Roberto De Paolis
Cinematographer:Claudio Cofrancesco
Editor:Paola Freddi
Music:Emanuele De Raymondi
Cast:Selene Caramazza
Simone Liberato
Barbora Bobulova
Stefano Fresi
Edoardo Pesce
Antonella Attili
Federico Pacifici
Isabella Delle Monache

Description

Agnese (Selena Caramazza) and Stefano (Simone Liberati) are like night and day. Eighteen-year old Agnese is about to take a vow of chastity. The daughter of a devout woman, Agnese goes to church regularly and decides to maintain her virginity until marriage. Stefano, on the other hand, is a streetwise 25-year-old with a violent temper and a difficult past. He works as a guard in a car park that borders a gypsy camp on the outskirts of Rome. Their unexpected meeting engenders deep feelings, made of stolen moments and some serious chemistry. In addition to being a love story with two magnetic leads, Roberto De Paolis’ first feature quietly raises the issue of the relationship between Italy and its Roma population. Stefano views the world and his Roma neighbors with suspicion. Agnese embraces the tenet of loving one’s neighbor, but she also questions some of the realities of the Church. When Stefano’s parents are evicted, the similarity between the existence of his family and that of the Roma is not lost on him. The ground is shaking for both of these young people; as their sense of stability shifts, they cling to each other and their unlikely pairing reveals new challenges and courses of action. –Nancy Fishman

PURE HEARTS screened in the 2017 Cannes Film Festival

Co-presented by Istituto Italiano Scuola and BAIA Business Association Italy America San Francisco

Additional Information

Roberto De Paolis, born in Rome in 1980, studied cinema at the London International Film School and acting with Argentinian coach Beatrice Bracco. In 2003, he started working as a photographer and his works have been exhibited in several art galleries and museums. In 2009-10, De Paolis directed two shorts, "Bassa marea" and "Alice," both of which screened at the Venice Film Festival. He also made videos for the web channel nowness.com. In 2013, together with Carla Altieri, he founded the production company Young Films. PURE HEARTS is his first feature film.