For this Out Takes we said Ciao to the St Ali Italian Film Festival which is returning to cinemas this September and October across Australia. We took a look at some of the films on offer, including the gorgeous coming-of-age story ‘The Beautiful Summer’ that follows Ginia, a young working-class woman in Turin navigating the throes of burgeoning adulthood amidst a tumultuous backdrop of pre-WWII Italy, and ‘Gloria!’, which tells the music-fuelled story of an overlooked maid at a Venetian refuge whose hidden talent helps inspire an uprising. We featured an exclusive interview with Italian actress, singer-songwriter and filmmaker Margherita Vicario who directed ‘Gloria!’ who was a special guest of the festival and in Australia to premiere the film. We also caught up with the festival’s program director Elysia Zeccola to find out about the diverse range of films on offer in this year’s program plus her personal recommendations for you to check out too.