Bicycle Thieves (PG) (Ladri di biciclette)

A masterpiece of Italian filmmaking and foundation stone of the neorealist film movement, Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves is a harrowing portrait of loss and depravation in post-war Rome.

Awarded an honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and regularly voted one of the greatest films of all time, Bicycle Thieves is a simple, powerful movie story about a man who needs a job. Like the great neorealist film that preceded it, Roberto Rosselini's Open City, Bicycle Thieves was shot on location in the streets of Rome using non-professional actors, giving chilling authenticity to the story of a man's desperate bid to provide for his family.

De Sica combined with long-time collaborator, writer Cesare Zavattini (Miracle in Milan, Umberto D), to produce a potent mix of real life detail, detective story and poetic melodrama as a father (Lamberto Maggiorani) and his devoted son (Enzo Staiola) roam the streets of the capital in search of the bicycle that will deliver them from poverty.

Closing Night screenings will be preceded by Limoncé cocktails, see ticketing pages for details.