Local news: Italian Cinema in SF focuses on new and veteran filmmakers

Cowpokes patrol the Maremma region between Lazio and Tuscany in "The Last Italian Cowboys." A police detective investigates a murder of pastoral vineyards in "The Last Prosecco." A shady movie producer lures five show business hopefuls to Armenia where they become creative after being stranded in "Hotel Gagarin." These are but a few of the movies at New Italian Cinema, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, at San Francisco's Vogue Theater.

Now in its 22nd year in San Francisco, the New Italian Cinema Events is aimed at exposing audiences to new and veteran Italian filmmakers and to promote works that explores unusual themes and / or display singular style, according to programmer and festival director Viviana del Bianco .

Among the guests expected at the festival are Silvia Bellotti, whose closing-night documentary "Open to the Public" examines Naples' public housing; Andrea Magnani, director of "Easy" about a go-to-seed go-kart who gets a shot at redemption; Gianmarco D'Agostino, whose short documentary "The Whole World, One Step at a Time"; and Francesco Falaschi, director of the opening-night film "As Needed," is a drama about leadership with anger management issues. http://newitaliancinema.org

A activist film fest: Films meant to spark civic engagement and explore ways to make urban planning more SF Urban Film Festival, Sunday, Nov. 11-18.

SFUFF opens with "Protest and Celebration in Our Shared Spaces," examining how citizens use their public spaces. Also in the program are "The Headwear Shop: Black Lives Matter," about a woman preparing for a BLM protest, and "Women's March Movie," about the Jan. 21, 2017, rally in Washington, D.C.

Among other themes explored in the festival are urban identity in "The City That Holds Us," the impact of grassroots sports programs in "Sports in the City – For Economy or Community" and Housing and Homelessness in "Warm Souls, Cold World." http://sfurbanfilmfest.com

UNAFF winners: "Soufra," Thomas A. Morgan's movie about women living in a refugee camp who's a food truck business is the best documentary award winner of the 21st annual United Nations Film Festival Association, which concluded in Palo Alto on Oct. 28.

Kim A. Snyder's "Lessons From a School Shooting: Notes From Dunblane," which focused on two priests united by tragedy, won the festival's best short documentary prize. To see a complete list of winners, go to: http://www.unaff.org.

Movie clips

• Betzy Bromberg's experimental work "A Darkness Swallowed," in which photographs give way to abstract imagery, screens along with Coni Beeson's "Firefly," on Friday, Nov. 16, at San Francisco's Artists' Television Access. http://www.atasite.org

• Brooklyn performance artist Narcissister participates in a Skype Q & A after the Nov. 19 screening of "Narcissist Organ Player" at the Roxie in San Francisco. The film, Narcissist's directing debut, is a hybrid of documentary and performance that explores her relationship with her mother. www.roxie.com

• The California Film Institute is now accepting submissions for its 2019 Doclands documentary film festival. www.doclands.com/