Rediscovering the Big Screen

The hush of anticipation as the lights dim. A ripple of laughter at a perfectly timed joke. The rich scent of buttered popcorn. There’s something singular about watching a film in a theater—a shared experience that’s easy to forgo in an era of digital streaming, where movies are always within reach but often watched alone.

Beginning Wednesday, “Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour” invites University of Maryland cinephiles and newcomers alike to rediscover that magic, offering six timeless gems the way they were meant to be seen: together, on the big screen. The five-day festival, presented by the programs of Italian and cinema and media studies, is inspired by Il Cinema Ritrovato, the renowned film festival in Bologna, Italy, where thousands gather each year to celebrate cinematic history.

UMD’s festival features free screenings on campus, as well as at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring. Among this year’s highlights are the 1972 Italian political thriller “Slap the Monster on Page One,” the 1986 burlesque musical comedy “Golden Eighties” and the 1965 Soviet-era Ukrainian masterpiece “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” widely regarded as the most internationally acclaimed Ukrainian film in history. Organizers—together with Il Cinema Ritrovato en Bologna—selected films that were recently restored and that feel especially relevant to the present moment.

“Whether you study cinema or have never thought much about it before, the experience of these films is going to be astounding,” said Mauro Resmini, associate professor of cinema and media studies and Italian in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC). “We want to recreate that festival atmosphere so everyone can enjoy these spectacular films.”

Il Cinema Ritrovato is known for presenting films restored by the Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna, one of the world’s foremost film restoration centers. Home to the archives of cinematic icons like Charlie Chaplin and Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Cineteca has breathed new life into thousands of films since the 1960s. Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour extends this legacy to audiences worldwide, bringing a slice of Cineteca’s film history to universities and festivals without requiring a trip to Italy. Now in its fifth edition, the UMD tour is the only such event in the mid-Atlantic.

“Many of these films were made before home video was widely available, so the original conditions of their reception were in cinemas,” said Hester Baer, SLLC professor of German studies and cinema and media studies and one of the event’s organizers. “If you try to watch them on a small screen you lose the richness of the texture—the way costumes and lighting and cinematography work together to create a kind of spectacle.”

At Tawes Hall on campus, “Dietrich Day” will pay homage to German American screen legend Marlene Dietrich, featuring two films by émigré directors in Hollywood. Josef von Sternberg’s 1932 melodrama “Blonde Venus,” co-starring Cary Grant, was made during Hollywood’s “pre-Code” era—a brief, boundary-pushing period before the enforcement of strict censorship guidelines in 1934. It follows a mother’s complex journey of sacrifice and reinvention, including a stint as a cabaret singer. Billy Wilder’s 1948 “A Foreign Affair” is a razor-sharp satire set in postwar Berlin, with Dietrich as a captivating nightclub singer entangled in a love triangle with a congresswoman and a U.S. Army captain.

Dietrich wasn’t just a glamorous screen presence. With her signature deep voice and commanding presence, she challenged gender norms through fashion, brought depth to complex female roles and used her influence to support the American war effort—turning down Nazi propaganda offers and instead entertaining Allied troops at great personal risk.

“She’s someone many young audiences may not be familiar with, but her impact resonates today on many levels,” Baer said.

Ultimately, Resmini hopes the festival will be more than a showcase of beautifully restored films—it will spark conversations that bridge the past and present, offering fresh perspectives on the questions we grapple with today.

“Cinema has always been an originator of conversations about the present, even when the films themselves are decades old,” he said.