A 2024 Oscar nominee, a virtuoso’s masterpiece, an acclaimed female director’s whimsical drama, a quirky comedy for Gen Zers and a gritty crime drama are all part of the 15th edition of the Italian Film Festival.

Presented by the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul and MSP Film Society, the four-day fest opens Thursday at the Main Cinema.

The festival that debuted in 2009 with five films now has grown to 12, and for the first time kicks off and ends with features by female directors. To draw a younger audience, tickets are $5 for all movies for students 26 and under. Also, all the contemporary movies this year are either U.S. or Minnesota premieres.

Artistic director Tommaso Cammarano and executive director Tiziana Cervesato, along with programming manager Ileana Tamberlani, started their selection process early last summer, watching more than 80 movies before settling on 10 contemporary and two classic ones.

“It was a labor of love, but also a lot of labor,” Cammarano said, laughing.

It also meant sifting through many styles and weighing all kinds of criteria, Cervesato said. Was the movie too Italian? Would the Minnesota filmgoers get it? Would they like it?

“People are paying money and trusting us by showing up for the festival,” Cammarano said. “It’s important in our hearts and minds to say that any of these films is worth your time.”

Cammarano and Cervesato spoke on a Zoom call about the movies that will be featured, and why they were selected.

"La Chimera" by director Alice Rohrwacher is about the ups and downs of a group of grave-robbers. (Neon)

‘La Chimera’

A British archaeologist (Josh O’Connor) reunites with a gang of robbers to unearth relics buried with the dead, raising questions about love, loss and the ethical dilemma of stealing. It’s the first time the fest is screening a movie by Alice Rohrwacher. (7:30 p.m. Thursday; 6-7 p.m. Happy Hour)

C&C: “We opened with this movie because Rohrwacher’s one of the most acclaimed female directors in Italy today. The movie has a poetic and magical flair.”

From left, Salvatore Ficarra, Toni Servillo and Valentino Picone in "La Stranezza." (Lia Pasqualino)

‘La Stranezza’ (’Strangeness’)

In this fictionalized biopic about Luigi Pirandello, the playwright meets two gravediggers (played by Salvatore Ficarra and Valentino Picone) who are staging an amateur play. Reality and fiction begin to blur along the way. (1:30 p.m. Friday)

C&C: “The movie blends high art with popular art. Ficarra and Picone are a popular comedy duo in Italy and drew crowds to the movie, which also illuminates a Nobel Prize-winning playwright.”

Pierluigi Gigante plays a single gay father of Viola Carbone in Fabio Mollo's "Nata Per Te." (Gianni Fiorito/Vision Distribution)

‘Nata Per Te’ (’Born for You’)

Based on a true story, it’s about a single gay man who is allowed to adopt a baby girl with Down syndrome after she is rejected by 37 traditional families. The U.S. premiere will be followed by a Q&A with director Fabio Mollo streamed from Italy. (6 p.m. Friday)

C&C: “It’s a well-made movie that is emotional, relevant and heartwarming. It tackles an important topic with humanity, and is uplifting.”

Stefano Sollima's "Adagio" is a thriller set in Rome's underworld. (Vision Distribution)

‘Adagio’

Three old mobsters look for revenge and redemption in a contemporary Roman underworld in this dark thriller and U.S. premiere featuring an award-winning cast. (9 p.m. Friday)

C&C: “It’s rare that the Italian film industry makes a crime suspense thriller like this one. It’s very stylized and moody, and makes you think of ‘Heat’ and Michael Mann.”

Ettore Scola's "C’eravamo Tanto Amati" depicts Italy’s socio-cultural history from the 1950s to the ‘70s. (Cineteca Nazionale)

‘C’eravamo Tanto Amati’

The classic marks its 50th anniversary this year. Three men’s friendship, built during World War II, is tested when they return home and face the reality of everyday life. Professor Lorenzo Fabbri from the University of Minnesota will host a Q&A. (11 a.m. Saturday)

C&C: “This movie blends comedy and drama nicely and explains the social, cultural and political commentaries from the 1950s-’70s. It’s typical Italian.”

A sad, quirky and lonely Gen Zer just wants a friend in Carolina Cavalli's "Amanda." (Oscilloscope)

‘Amanda’

A combative and moneyed college grad looking for a bestie befriends an isolated 20-something just like herself. The screening concludes with a live streamed Q&A with director Carolina Cavalli. (2 p.m. Saturday)

C&C: “It’s a goofy movie about a Gen Zer and nothing else like we have seen. It screamed originality in the way it’s written and filmed. It’s a little like a Wes Anderson movie.”

An actor discovers talent among an unlikely group of prison inmates in Riccardo Milani's "Grazie Ragazzi." (Claudio Iannone)

‘Grazie Ragazzi’ (’Thank You Guys’)

An unemployed actor finds his passion rekindled when he holds a theater workshop in a prison for a bunch of inmates. (5 p.m. Saturday)

C&C: “This is a pure big crowd comedy. It’s a lighter movie that counterbalances the darker ones.”

Matteo Garrone's Oscar-nominated "Io Capitano" exposes the horrors and difficulties that two Senegalese teenage cousins endure on a trip of their dreams. (Cohen Media Group)

‘Io Capitano’

Matteo Garrone’s drama is about two teenage cousins who leave their home in Senegal in search of a better life in Europe, not knowing the difficulties that await them in the harrowing journey. The Oscar-nominated movie has its Minnesota premiere at the fest. Cammarano will host a Q&A at the end of the screening. (7:45 p.m. Saturday)

C&C: “It was a no-brainer to show this at the festival. We had to fight to get the movie and we’re happy we did. The characters are so well drawn out. It’s painful but so touching.”

Marcello Mastroianni plays a director struggling with a creative block in the classic "8½" by Federico Fellini. "'8½' is the purest expression of love for the cinema that I know of," said Martin Scorsese of the masterpiece. (Janus Films)

‘8½′

Federico Fellini’s autobiographical masterpiece is told from a director’s point of view and weaves in and out of reality and fantasy. Marcello Mastroianni plays a Fellini-like director. Mastrioianni would have turned 100 this year, and IFF wanted to celebrate that with this screening. (11 a.m. Sunday)

C&C: “It’s fair to say that it’s one of the most amazing films about filmmaking ever made. It paved the way for directors to think differently about narratives. It’s rare to see “8½” on the big screen, but it should be seen on the big screen.”

‘Mia’

A teenager’s life takes a tumultuous turn when a charming, mysterious man starts dating her. There will be a Q&A with director Ivano de Matteo. (2:15 p.m. Sunday)

C&C: “It leaves you sick in your stomach but at the same time it’s not a cheap punch. It says ‘you bought me to this difficult place, but you did it the right way.’ The focus on bullying and toxic teen relationships is very relevant these days.”

A filmmaker has to rethink his way of doing things if he wants a brighter tomorrow in Nanni Moretti's "Il Sol Dell'Avvenire." (Kinology)

‘Il Sol Dell’avvenire’ (’A Brighter Tomorrow’)

A filmmaker is in crisis mode. Neither his marriage nor his passion project about Italy’s Communist Party in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is going the way he wants in this comic melodrama. It will end with a Q&A with Cammarano. (5:15 p.m. Sunday)

C&C: “It’s Fellini-esque in a way as director Nanni Moretti, who is somewhere between Larry David and Woody Allen, pokes fun of himself.”

Three women realize happiness is an ever-present possibility in "Settembre." (Francesca_Fago/Rai Cinema)

‘Settembre’ (’September’)

On a September day, three women realize their lives are not what they dreamed but happiness is still within reach. (7:45 p.m. Sunday)

C&C: “We wanted to end the festival on a light note with a fresh comedy that is sweet and uplifting.”