Skopje, 10 December 2025 (MIA) — Cineplexx movie theater will screen the Italian kung fu thriller "The Forbidden City" as the first in a series of free screenings of new Italian movies through Dec. 13, organizers said.

The screenings were organized under the Cinema Made in Italy annual program. The movies will be shown in Italian with Macedonian subtitles.

Gabriele Mainetti's "The Forbidden City" ("La città proibita," 2025) will be shown Wednesday. It is the story of two people, Mae and Marcello, looking for their missing relatives. Despite their differences, the two eventually find connection through food — sharing and mixing their two cuisines: Roman and Chinese — and together they are catapulted into an action-packed descent into the criminal underworld.

Isabel Coixet's "Three Goodbyes" ("Tre ciotole," 2025) will be shown Thursday. It is a breakup story in which Marta seems to react to the breakup by losing her appetite while Antonio, a rising chef, immerses himself in his work. Despite being the one who broke up with her, Antonio can’t forget Marta. When Marta discovers that her loss of appetite has more to do with her own health than the pain of separation, it changes everything.

Carolina Cavalli's "The Kidnapping of Arabella" ("Il rapimento di Arabella," 2025) will be shown Friday. It is a film about Holly, a 28-year-old woman who has always felt uncomfortable in her own skin and disappointed in her life’s trajectory until she meets Arabella, a 7-year-old girl who changes her perspective.

Laura Samani's "A Year of School" ("Un anno di scuola," 2025) will be shown Saturday. The film explores the challenges of growing up as a young woman in a male-dominated world. As the only girl in an all-male high school class, new-in-town 17-year-old Fred quickly becomes the center of attention, especially for classmates Antero, Pasini and Mitis, putting their longstanding friendship to the test.

All screenings start at 8 pm. Admission is free.

Organized by Cinecittà and the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade with support from the Italian Embassy in North Macedonia, the Cinema Made in Italy program promotes and distributes contemporary Italian films to international theaters.

Cinecittà is Italy's state-owned company that distributes and supports the theatrical releases of Italian first and second time feature films. It also keeps one of the most important European audiovisual collections concerning the history of the 20th century, inscribed by UNESCO in its Memory of the World register. mr/