5 films to catch at the Italian Film Festival - Special Venice Edition

As any film fan would tell you, the best ones are rarely the commercially-driven blockbusters coming out of Hollywood. As awesome as it looks, we don't think the upcoming Godzilla reboot will be winning any real awards at the Oscars anytime soon.

No, the most meaningful films are the ones found at festivals, such as the Venice Film Festival that'll be coming to Singapore as a special edition of the 11th Italian Film Festival. 10 of the best Italian and Asian films from last year's 70th Venice Film Festival will be playing in Singapore from 2-7 April at the National Museum of Singapore and The Cathay Cineplex, so prepare for some serious movie time in the days ahead.

The schedule is below, but you can also download the full festival guide here. Don't worry about the language barrier, every film is subtitled in English.

Sacro GRA

The first documentary ever to win the Venice FIlm Festival's highest honour, the Golden Lion, Sacro GRA follows filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi as he travels Rome's Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), from which the film takes its name. Chronicling his journey over two years, the film tells the stories of the various characters he encounters along the way, exploring the many different worlds surrounding the ancient city.

Bertolucci on Bertolucci

A film about the life and work of legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci, this film-essay was put together over two years, and condenses over three hundred hours of archival footage into a beautifully edited first-hand account of cinema from the man himself.

Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy

Based upon an artistic concept that adapts 410 real tweets by an anonymous Thai girl into a fictional storyline, , Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy is definitely not your typical narrative. Watch to see Mary, a senior in high school, struggle with graduation; sudden changes in life, love, and friendship; and strange events that are seemingly happening to her at random.

'Til Madness Do Us Part

Watch this only if you've got a lot of time to spare. Made by Chinese director Wang Bing, this emotionally-charged four-hour long epic documents the lives of inmates in an old, broken-down Chinese mental hospital.

La Dolce Vita

Originally made in 1960, this iconic film has been remastered in 4K resolution, and tells the story of Marcello Rubini, who writes about the lifestyles of the rich and the famous in a newspaper gossip column, and his descent into debauchery. The Wolf of Wall Street's got nothing on him.