‘We Are Who We Are’ review: Queer-themed series offers elegant storytelling and tart, unforced humor

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentProduction of TV dramas is back on track in Italy after a pandemic-prompted pause just as several hot new Italian shows, such as Luca Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are,” are hitting international screens and markets.Pay-TV platform Sky Italia, which partnered with HBO on Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are,” has a slew of shows in various stages, including two very different ancient Rome skeins.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticThe great French director Eric Rohmer died 10 years ago, but his spirit lives on in other filmmakers. There are artists at work in the Rohmer tradition who, at moments, have evoked his sublime conversational ardor — and if you want to know what I mean, just watch Eugène Green’s “La Sapienza.” Few in the U.S.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorViacomCBS International Studios has announced that it is developing a TV series based on the life of Italian female artist Artemisia Gentileschi, who is considered to be one of the most accomplished painters in the Baroque period.ViacomCBS International Studios has attached Pan’s Labyrinth producer Frida Torresblanco to develop the project, while former ViacomCBS International Studios UK managing director Jill Offman is also involved through her new outfit 66

“The Truffle Hunters” takes viewers deep in the forests of Northern Italy to watch as elderly men and their indispensable dogs participate in the tradition of sniffing out the elusive white Alba truffle. Beloved by gourmet chefs, the truffle’s rarity drives prices sky-high, even as the subjects of the film maintain the old ways of hunting, free of technology, relying on their own memories and a cranky sense of secrecy.

Terry Flores The VIEW Conference is offering free streaming access to its 2020 program, which runs from Oct. 18-23 in Turin, Italy.“There has been so much bad news in 2020, so I’m thrilled to be able to share some great news for a change,” said conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentRome’s MIA market, the growing showcase for international TV series, feature films and documentaries, has announced a first batch of projects being pitched to prospective buyers during its sixth edition on track to take place both physically and online Oct.14-18 in the Italian capital.They include “Lafayette,” a costume drama set during the the American Revolution written by David Franzoni, who won a best picture Oscar for producing “Gladiator.”

Louisville, Kentucky-born, Staten Island-raised Michael Rainey Jr. may be only 20, but his acting résumé already spans more than a decade.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorGoodfellas and The Sopranos alumna Lorraine Bracco is re-connecting with her Italian roots in a new home renovation series for HGTV. The Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actress is heading to the island of Sicily to renovate a 200-year-old home she purchased for only one euro for new HGTV series My Big Italian Adventure.

television business — on HGTV’s “My Big Italian Adventure.”In the upcoming series, the “Goodfellas” and “Sopranos” actress will remodel a 200-year-old, 1,075-square-foot home that she purchased in Sicily for exactly one euro.

Guy Lodge Film CriticAs the director of the best-dressed films in contemporary Italian cinema, it’s not surprising that Luca Guadagnino was the man approved by the Salvatore Ferragamo luxury goods brand to make a devoted documentary ode to its long-deceased founder.

Jessica Kiang Doves flutter, girls chatter, life sputters on — and sometimes gutters out — in Emma Dante’s tempestuous and touching sophomore feature “The Macaluso Sisters.” To imagine the decades-long catch-and-release sweep of a single lifespan and condense it into one sub-90-minute film is a feat; to do so about multiple interconnected lives without losing definition is even more impressive.