Director Paolo Sorrentino reunites with his THE GREAT BEAUTY star Toni Servillo to peer behind the curtain of recent Italian politics. Billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi (Servillo) was first elected to lead the Italian government in 1994 and his lengthy, corruption-ridden tenure has resulted in a tax-fraud conviction, so there’s more than enough material for a juicy biopic. But as the title - which translates as “them” - suggests, this film is less focused on the ex-prime minister than on his sycophantic retinue. Released in two parts in Italy, the film won four Nastro d’Argento awards including Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Elena Sofia Ricci). “Sorrentino’s mastery of the unexpected visual shock is deliciously in evidence from the moment the title appears.” - Jay Weissberg, Variety.

Based on the successful novel by Nick Hornby, SLAM is filled with the often exciting, often frightening, twists and turns of growing up. Sixteen-year-old Samuele (Ludovico Tersigni) spends his days skateboarding with his friends, doing jumps and tricks, and taking the odd spill; he also nurtures a completely imaginary friendship with his hero, Tony Hawk, the best skater of all time. He would love to attend a university, to travel, and perhaps move to California and become a professional skater. But more than anything, Samuele would love to be the first in his family not to fall into the trap of having a baby at 16, which happened to both his mother and his grandmother.

With its themes of homophobia and bullying in school, this coming-of-age drama about three teen outcasts could not be more timely. Withdrawn basketball player Antonio (Leonardo Pazzagli), promiscuous Blu (Valentina Romani) and flamboyantly gay Lorenzo (Rimau Ritzberger Grillo) band together against the taunts of schoolmates - until a kiss shatters their unity.