As the BFI host a season of Italian neo-realist films by auteur actor-director Vittorio de Sica, we pick out our favourites:

Shoeshine, film by Vittorio de Sica

Shoeshine, de Sica's first major work, is also one of the first Italian neorealist films. It follows two homeless young boys who turn to shining shoes to pursue their dream of buying a horse, and come into trouble with the law.

A bleak portrayal of poverty and injustice in the wake of fascism in Rome, Shoeshine was the first foreign language film to ever receive an honorary Oscar, and acted as precursor to the foreign film category itself.

A landmark work of post war Italian cinema, Shoeshine is a must-see in the de Sica season. Harrowing and uncompromising realism.

The BFI will be showing Shoe Shine twice during the season. Click here to buy BFI tickets.

Looking for more?

Read our selection of the best films in the Vittorio de Sica BFI retrospective

What	Shoeshine (1946) Vittorio de Sica BFI Film Season
Where	BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, Southbank, London, SE1 8XT \| MAP
Nearest tube	Waterloo (underground)
When	On 13 Aug 15, 6:30 PM – 12:00 AM On 15 Aug 15, 3:50 PM – 5:23 PM
Price	£10
Website	Click here to book via the BFI website.

Competition

A CHANCE TO WIN

The BFI and Culture Whisper have joined forces, offering one lucky reader the chance to win a host of prizes in association with the Vittorio de Sica Italian Cinema season. These include:

- Two tickets to any film in the BFI De Sica season this August.

- A copy of The Italian Cinema Book – an essential guide to the most important historical, aesthetic and cultural aspects of Italian cinema, from 1895 to the present day.

- A copy of the BFI's artwork for the Vittorio de Sica season

- A selection of DVDs from Arrow Films including Bertolucci’s masterpiece The Conformist, plus Giuseppe Tornatore’s loving homage to the cinema: Cinema Paradiso.

What the critics say

ROGER EBERT

'I walked up the street, crying blindly, no longer certain whether my tears were for the tragedy on the screen, the hopelessness I felt for myself, or the alienation I felt from those who could not experience the radiance of 'Shoeshine.' For if people cannot feel 'Shoeshine,' what can they feel?"