Actors used to turn to alcohol to numb nerves before filming explicit shots. Now Tinseltown has ‘intimacy co-ordinators’, writes Ed Power

Italy gave us the Roman empire and the Renaissance two of the most influential forces in European history. Has this legacy coloured Italians’ perception of themselves and their place in the world, wonders Marjorie Brennan.

Bertolucci's wonderful new film, based on the Gilbert Adair novel, The Holy Innocents, shows what the cinema as an artform is all about: stylish, observant, witty, loving, good-looking, rich in texture.

A gala screening of John Sayles Casa De Los Babys will open this year's Belfast Film Festival - the fourth - on March 25.