Sergio Bini Bustric

Life Is Beautiful

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Metti una notte

Martino, a young entomologist in a sentimental crisis, returns to Rome to find his beloved uncle. As soon as he arrives, his uncle asks him to babysit the daughter of some friends. Once arrived at Linda's home, the little girl, Martino finds out that along with her there is also Lulù, her eccentric and unpredictable grandmother. Everything becomes more complicated when Martino receives the phone call of Tea, an old love encountered by accident right that afternoon. The woman is in danger and asks him for help. Martino, excited about the idea of saving her, is forced to bring the grandmother and child into a series of adventures and misadventures, encounters and unforeseen events, around a nocturnal Rome, seeking a new love.

The Good Pope

Angelo Roncalli, born in Sotto Il Monte in 1881, is known for his profound spirituality as well as his extraordinary goodness from the young years of his life. When he feels a need to serve God, Angelo goes to study theology in Bergamo, and in Apollinare School (Rome) and becomes a priest. During his studies, he gets to know his two dearest friends, Mattia and Nicola. Very soon, most people see marvelous talents in him, including his wide knowledge and a constant readiness for sacrifice. The Holy See makes him go further to bishop and cardinal, and the Holy Father sends him to various places as a representative of the Church. When Pius XII dies on October, the 9th, 1958, 77 year-old Angelo goes to Rome, to conclave to choose a new pope. However, this time, it is him who hears gentle words of Jesus "Tu es Petrus!" ("You are Peter!") and from October, the 28th leads the church as pope John XXIII

Especially on Sunday

Four lighthearted stories set in the idyllic Italian countryside: an old grouch is befriended by a stray dog; a lonely widow spies on her newly-wed son and daughter-in-law; a German tourist tries to seduce a younger nurse. The fourth segment was cut in the US by its distributor Miramax.

Miracle of Marcellino

In the 15th century, in a poor Italian village, the monks of a modest convent take up an abandoned baby. Unfortunately, for all their efforts, they prove unable to trace his parents. So they set up providing tender loving care to the little boy. Marcellino lives a happy life among the men of God but, as he grows up, he misses his mother more and more.

To Rome with Love

Four tales unfold in the Eternal City: While vacationing in Rome, architect John encounters a young man whose romantic woes remind him of a painful incident from his own youth; retired opera director Jerry discovers a mortician with an amazing voice, and he seizes the opportunity to rejuvenate his own flagging career; a young couple have separate romantic interludes; a spotlight shines on an ordinary man.

Improvvisamente a Natale mi sposo

Fia og klovnene

Fia is a wise and somewhat tough 8-year-old girl. Perhaps a cousin of Pippi Longstocking, only a little more vulnerable. Like Pippi, and all other children, she wants to be big and strong, with the power and opportunity to make the world the way she wants it to be. Fia has a difficult role as a kind of "mother" to her mother, a mother who is unable to cope with everyday life. But in the yard opposite lives the magician Bustric, and he becomes Fia's anchor in life. Bustric is a little grown up, but very much a child, and he saves Fia from being seen as a liar and a dreamer in the new class she has to start in.

Things from Another World

Maroso Golfetto, a firm manager from Veneto, is known for his frequent yelling at his employees, who are either immigrants or Southern Italians. He regularly appears on the local TV channel to denounce the evils of immigration, and his popularity extends to children. His speeches resonate more deeply with people than those of Lucia, their anti-racist schoolmistress. One morning, a miracle occurs: by invoking the help of God to rid Veneto of its immigrants, all the immigrants disappear. However, is this truly a blessing?

The Cosmos on the Commode

Four comedic episodes framed within the story of a tyrannical Zen master and his two hapless disciples.