City Island (dir. Raymond De Felitta, 2009)

A nice and unpretentious comedy about a family living on a small island in the Bronx, whose patriarch, played by Andy Garcia, dreams of becoming an actor. With a young – and still unknown – Ezra Miller. Watch the trailer.

Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire, dir. Paolo e Vittorio Taviani, 2012)

Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare‘s “Julius Caesar”. It’s beautiful and moving (I cried my eyes out) to realize that topics such as power, treachery and freedom are as present in Shakespeare‘s tragedy – written in the 16th century – as in the lives of these prisoners today. A must see. Watch the trailer.

Minha Mãe é uma Peça (dir. Andre Pellenz, 2013)

Film version of a hit play here in Brazil, the movie follows the misadventures of a middle-aged, retired mother of three whose biggest concern are her kids. The main character is played by a man, the comedian Paulo Gustavo. Watch the trailer.