Hands over the City (Le Mani Sulla Citta) by Francesco Rosi

Set in post-World War II Naples, this observational drama explores the quiet tension between urban expansion and public welfare. The film follows the story of a developer whose ambitions come under scrutiny after a building collapses. Shot in a stark, documentary-like style, the film won the Golden Lion at the 1963 Venice Film Festival and remains a landmark of civil cinema.

Director: Francesco Rosi
Writers: Francesco Rosi, Raffaele La Capria, Enzo Provenzale
Cast: Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido Alberti

The film with be screened with English subtitles

About the Director:
Francesco Rosi (Naples, 1922 - Rome 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. 

In 1940, Rosi initially began studying law which he soon dropped out to work as a broadcast journalist and book illustrator in Naples. In the immediate post-war years, Rosi moved to Rome, where he came into contact with film-making. He initially acted as an assistant to several directors and thus played a key role in the development of Italian "Neorealismo".
From 1947 to 1948, Rosi assisted Luchino Visconti in the filming of the masterpiece of neorealism "La terra trema". In 1957 Rosi celebrated his directorial debut with "La sfida", which led to a long series of films in the following decades, some of which courageously dealt with unpleasant and critical topics in Italian post-war society. Rosi's films such as "Le mani sulla città" (1963), "Cadaveri eccellenti" (1976) and "Cristo si è fermato a Eboli" (1979) are dedicated to the ruthless analysis of events in the Italian history of the time. The director bluntly denounces how wars, crime and corruption were social processes tolerated or even desired by political power. 

With the film adaptation of the opera "Carmen" (1984) and the novel by Gabriel García Márquez "Cronaca di una morte annunciata" (1987), the director remains connected to the basic theme of the Italian South deepened again through the pessimistic view of the global Italian-American mafia portrayed in "Dimenticare Palermo" (1990).
Rosi received numerous recognitions for his work, wining prestigious awards for Film Festivals in Berlin, Venice and Cannes. 

This screening is part of "FARE CINEMA - THE ITALIAN FILM WEEK" taking place in all major cities in the world, including Mumbai <3