A filmmaker returns to his Sicilian hometown for the first time in thirty years and looks back on his life. As a young boy he was befriended by the projectionist at the movie theater, the Cinema Paradiso. As he grew up, he learned to love films, and was encouraged by his good friend to pursue his dream of one day making movies.

When the seductive Jeanne arrives at her boyfriend's childhood home, she is greeted by his brooding mother Anna. As the two women await him, a mysterious secret looms over the household, ready to boil over.

The story of an uncontaminated Sicilian island inhabited by fisherman. Still barely touched by tourism, the islanders have begun to alter their mentality and behavior as they realize the economic potential of this new industry. At the same time, they deal with illegal aliens flooding the island and a new law requiring them to turn back undocumented peoples seeking aid.

A filmmaker returns to his Sicilian hometown for the first time in thirty years and looks back on his life. As a young boy he was befriended by the projectionist at the movie theater, the Cinema Paradiso. As he grew up, he learned to love films, and was encouraged by his good friend to pursue his dream of one day making movies.

Padre Padrone: Gavino is six when his father hauls him out of school to keep watch over sheep on a barren countryside, huddled in a makeshift hut night and day. The child is constantly abused by his father who treats him as his own father treated him. When the illiterate Gavino is commanded by his father to join the army, he learns a trade and a new concept of life, discovering the outside world and his own identity within it. Night of the shooting...