Magical Realism: The Film Fables of the Taviani Brothers

For over 60 years, brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani helped to define and enrich contemporary Italian cinema. For the two-month Magical Realism series, the BFI looks back over their extraordinary body of work. 

Drawing on Italian politics and history, their Tuscan origins, a passion for literature and film, and an absolute belief in the magic of storytelling, the Tavianis have sculpted a unique body of remarkably diverse yet distinctly recognisable films.

Demonstrating considerable ambition in both subject matter and cinematic invention (including a masterful interweaving of multiple narrative strands), their output encompasses ultra-contemporary satire, powerful allegorical period drama, haunting war stories and playful, wickedly humorous literary adaptations of (among others) Pirandello, Tolstoy and Shakespeare.

This two-month retrospective of the brothers’ work showcases these wonderful film fables in four thematic sections and includes an evening with the director Paolo Taviani in conversation with Padre Padrone at the BFI Southbank on Sunday 11 February.