Siccità | Dry: dir Paolo Virzi (2022)

In a dystopian present, it hasn’t rained in Rome for three years: the drought has reduced water reserves to a minimum and there’s an epidemic of sleeping sickness carried by cockroaches. Through a city dying of thirst and prohibitions moves a chorus of people, young and old, marginalized and successful, victims and profiteers. Their lives are linked in a single design, while each seeks his or her deliverance … ”

The film is “an intelligent, ambitious modern melodrama with a bracingly cynical streak,” said one reviewer; another called it “an apocalyptic comedy”, which probably doesn’t do justice to a clever, inventive and handsomely staged film, with an extensive high-calibre ensemble cast that includes Silvio Orlando, Valerio Mastandrea, Sara Serraiocco and Monica Bellucci. It asks questions with its vision of a future, but at the same time is entertainingly engaging.

The film screens in the NAAS programme under the umbrella title Green Reel: Films for a Sustainable Future, featuring independent films from around the world that focus on the environment and sustainability. NAAS is a collaboration between a number of cultural institutions in the UAE: the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, the Embassies of France in the United Arab Emirates, the Embassy of Canada to the United Arab Emirates, the Italian Cultural Institute of Abu Dhabi, the Embassy of Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Alliance Française Dubai.

NAAS: Green Reel runs from 10 September to 26 November at Alliance Française Dubai. The screenings are all free and subtitled in English.

Upcoming: (click the title for the link)

22 October Animal dir Cyril Dion (2021)
5 November Taste the Waste dir Valentin Thurn (2011)
12 November More than Honey dir Markus Imhoof (2012)
19 November Hadwin’s Judgement dir Sasha Snow (2015)
26 November Dans la brume | Just a Breath Away dir Daniel Roby (2018)