Valeria Golino in New York: “I Would Like to Tell the Story of the Liquid Times We Are Living”

#valeriagolino #cinema #cinemaitaliano #italiancinema #openroads Valeria Golino in New York: “I Would Like to Tell the Story of the Liquid Times We Are Living Through” NEW YORK (ITALPRESS) – One of the undisputed stars of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2026, Valeria Golino arrived at Lincoln Center with no fewer than four films featured in this year’s program, reaffirming her status as one of the most versatile and influential figures in contemporary Italian cinema, both as an actress and as a director. Speaking with Italpress during the festival, Golino reflected on the messages she hopes American audiences will take away from the characters she portrays in the four films screening at Open Roads. Discussing Fuori, directed by Mario Martone, Golino described the film as “a sisterhood of souls among women” and said she hopes American viewers will feel “the sense of freedom and fearlessness that the film radiates when it comes to women and the feminine experience.” “Mario Martone,” she said, “has made a film about womanhood in its most intimate and purest form.” She is equally passionate about La Gioia by Nicolangelo Gelormini. “It’s a film that is very close to my heart,” Golino said. “The female character is heartbreaking.” She described the story as a complex relationship between “an older woman who has remained a child inside” and a very young man, shaped by themes of “eros and thanatos,” love and death. According to Golino, the film also explores how “ignorance can sometimes lead us to become the worst version of ourselves.” A similar theme appears in Elisa, where her character introduces what she calls “a very subversive idea about guilt and innocence.” “I would really love people to see this film,” she said, “because it speaks precisely about guilt and innocence.” Her comments on Breve Storia d’Amore by Ludovica Rampoldi were lighter in tone. Smiling, Golino summarized the film’s message in a single sentence: “I’d like people to understand that cheating on your wife never leads to anything good.” The conversation then turned to the United States. Nearly four decades after Rain Man, the Oscar-winning film that helped launch her international career, Golino was asked what kind of story she would like to tell if she were offered the opportunity to make a film in America today. “I would definitely try to tell a contemporary story,” she said. “A story about the moment we are all living through.” She described today’s reality as “this liquid time we are living in,” a period that deeply affects “our souls, the way we behave, the way we love, the way we care for others, or fail to care for them.” For Golino, the United States offers a particularly revealing lens through which to observe these transformations. “Everything that happens in the world becomes more visible here,” she said. The actress and director also offered a candid assessment of the current state of American cinema. “American cinema is not in great health,” she observed. “In previous decades, much better films were being made. Today, fewer and fewer.” Still, she remains optimistic thanks to filmmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese. “Scorsese is still there making films,” she said. “And that is both wonderful and encouraging.” It was a critical yet affectionate reflection on an industry that, nearly forty years after Rain Man, continues to represent an important artistic reference point for Valeria Golino. (Video and interview by Stefano Vaccara x Itapress)