Foreign film fans, take note: your best chance to see some of the finest work being produced by new Italian directors is coming soon to a theater near you. The five-day film festival, “New Authors of Italian Cinema, 6th Edition,” runs from Nov. 17 through 21 at International House and gives the Penn community and general public the chance to see groundbreaking films unavailable anywhere else.

“It is completely dedicated to new authors and features the first work or second work from new, young, challenging directors,”says Nicola Gentili, associate director of Penn’s Center for Italian Studies, the sponsor of the festival.

Gentili says that this film festival began in 1999 with the intention to make the “academic world aware of new emerging movie directors besides the classics, [Federico] Fellini and [Luchino] Visconte.” A general audience has also responded. Last year’s festival drew about 1,200 people over five nights for a schedule that included films by Aurielo Grimaldi (“Rosa Funzeca,”2002) and Daniele Luchetti (“Dillo con parole mie,”2003), among others. Already on this year’s schedule is a panel discussion on Thursday evening with Gentili, director of the Center for Italian Studies Millicent Marcus and NYU film professor Antonio Monda.

For a complete schedule of films, visit the Center’s web site at ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians or I-House’s web site at www.ihousephilly.org.