Cape Town's oldest art cinema turns 65 this month and celebrates with a two-week feast of Italian films. Originally an Italian Embassy, The Labia started as a live performance theatre back in 1949 when it was opened by Princess Labia.
Now Capetonians know it as the cinema to go to when you want a dose of arthouse, or maybe just a glass of wine with your movie.
Cinema manager Ludi Krause says he picked Italian films not only because of the connection to the name, but also because the selected movies evoke a particular sense of romance which used to be associated with films.
These are films which transport you, you watch these films and they're magical. You're not bombarded by special effects and noise, said Krause.
The 12 films, which will screen multiple times over two weeks, were also chosen because of the positive response they received the first time they were screened here.
It's a selection based as much on merit as on what was popular. And, ultimately, what was available, he explained.
The Labia has finally sourced two digital projectors at an affordable price, and these should be installed in the next six months. Krause says this will give the arthouse cinema a new opportunity to draw on the best of contemporary art films.
Also, to show all sorts of films which aren't available on print anymore. It opens the world of film to us.
I think that as more cinemas go the big special effects route, the greater the need for a cinema that shows a different type of movie, said Krause.
The fortnight of Cinema Italian Style will feature: La Citt Delle Donne (City of Women), 1980: Federico Fellini's exploration of the Latin concept of machismo, feminism and gender politics.
The Dreamers, 2003: Bernardo Bertolucci's elegant exploration of Paris in 1968, when the younger generation on the big screen had more important battles to fight than computer-generated monsters.
Le Bal, 1983: this Oscar-nominated declaration of love for the cinema is set in the same ballroom over the passage of 50 years.
Cinema Paradiso, 1988: this Oscar winner gives us a film-maker looking back at his childhood and what sparked his love of cinema.
Allegro Non Troppo, 1976: an enthusiastic film-maker who thinks he's come up with a totally original idea to set animation to classical music, does his own thing - using little old ladies for an orchestra and keeping his animator locked up in a dungeon.
Farinelli, 1994: emotionally intense, this story of the last castrato, features exquisite music.
Pane e Cioccolata (Bread and Chocolate), 1974: a bittersweet comedy which explores the experience of Italian and Spanish immigrant workers in Switzerland in the 1960s.
Pasqualino Settebellezze (Seven Beauties), 1975: following a non-linear narrative, director Lina Wertmuller was the first woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar for this farce, which is as much an anti-war statement as a story of the human condition.
Canon Inverso, 2000: a love story set in pre-Nazi Europe with an elegant score by Ennio Morricone.
Il Giardino dei Finzi Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis), 1970: this languid poem explores the effect of laws implemented against the Jews in Fascist Italy in the late 1930s.
Il Portiere di Notte (The Night Porter), 1974: this study of insanity brings together an ex-SS officer and a concentration camp survivor who resume their sado-masochistic relationship.
Fellini's Satyricon, 1969: this series of disjointed mythical tales set in first-century Rome remains a difficult film to watch.
Check www.thelabia. co.za for schedule details
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
Cape Town's oldest art cinema turns 65 this month and celebrates with a two-week feast of Italian films. Originally an Italian Embassy, The Labia started as a live performance theatre back in 1949 when it was opened by Princess Labia.
