Salvatore Giuliano

In 1950, the body of the 28-year-old bandit Salvatore Giuliano is found on a Sicilian farm. But little is as it seems. Moving back and forth between the late 1940s — when Giuliano and other outlaws were used by separatist politicians — and the days surrounding his death, the film reconstructs a complex web of power, violence and political interests. Will the bandits be pardoned as promised after Sicily’s autonomy is declared? And why does Giuliano order his gang to fire on a peaceful May Day rally? The police, the Carabinieri and the Mafia all have use for him. After his death, a trial begins: will the truth come to light, or will the law of silence protect those in power? SALVATORE GIULIANO won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962 and earned Francesco Rosi the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival the same year. The film also received multiple Nastro d’Argento awards, including for Best Director and Best Cinematography, and was later included in the official list of “100 Italian films to be saved” (2008). Today, it is considered one of the key works of Italian political cinema.