''April'' () is a 1998

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

semi-autobiographical film written and directed by

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades, including a at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize ...

. Moretti also plays the central character, a filmmaker who has to deal with Italy's political situation, his own goals as an artist and becoming a father. The French director

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; ; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film '' Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s and of all time. Her work has dealt with themes of colonial and p ...

described the film thus, "He wants to make a musical comedy but he can't get started. So instead he talks about his life, his new baby, his desires and fears. Finally in the very last scene he begins." Moretti's wife, son and mother appear as themselves.

Plot

Following the general election of 1994, won by the centre-right coalition led by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

, Moretti is encouraged by a journalist friend to make a documentary about the current political situation in Italy. Two years pass, another election is held, and Moretti has still made no progress with his documentary. He begins shooting another project, alluded to in '' Dear Diary'', a musical about a Trotskyist pastry chef set in the 1950s, but he becomes disillusioned and is distracted by his wife Silvia's pregnancy, which preoccupies him more and more. His son Pietro is born, and the centre-left coalition Ulivo wins the election. Moretti continues to try to shoot his documentary in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, but the film is never finished. On his 44th birthday he realises that he must stop hesitating and he finally begins shooting his musical in earnest.

Cast

as himself *

Silvio Orlando Silvio Orlando (born 30 June 1957) is an Italian actor. Orlando was born and raised in Naples, where he started acting in theatre in 1976. He made his film debut in 1988 with a supporting role in the comedy '' Kamikazen: Last Night in Milan'', ...

as himself * Silvia Nono as herself * Pietro Moretti as himself * Agata Apicella Moretti as herself * Nuria Schoenberg as herself * as herself * Quentin de Fouchécour as himself *

Renato De Maria Renato De Maria (born 1958) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than ten films since 1991. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Maria, Renato 1958 births Living people Italian ...

as himself * Claudio Francia as himself * Jacopo Francia as himself * Matilde Francia as herself *

Daniele Luchetti Daniele Luchetti () is an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Luchetti was born in Rome. He debuted as assistant director for Nanni Moretti in ''Bianca (1984 film), Bianca'' (1983) and ''The Mass Is Ended'' (1985). L ...

as himself * Giovanna Nicolai as herself * as himself

Awards

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

1998: Best Supporting Actor (Silvio Orlando) *

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

(nominated)

References

External links

* 1990s political comedy films 1998 films Films directed by Nanni Moretti 1990s Italian-language films Italian political comedy films Italian independent films Self-reflexive films Films scored by Ludovico Einaudi Films set in Rome 1998 comedy films 1990s Italian films {{1990s-Italy-comedy-film-stub