Set in the mountains of northeast Italy, this film may be considered an observational documentary about rural life. Although this is undeniably the case, at the same time Under the cold stars can hardly be considered a documentary: the microcosm on which it focuses appears to be a reflection of a broader reality and perhaps a way to deal with the themes of man’s existence and his relationship with animals, nature and, most importantly, with time. As written by Franco Piavoli “it is a film which essentially relies on images and sound, where words themselves are sound and the music of life, of the relentless flow of time”.

A video made for RAI by Videobase in 1972

A man finds out that he won the lottery and travels to Rome to retrieve the other half of his winning ticket.

When Nick is fired from his high-powered investment firm at Christmastime, he takes a job at a Christmas tree lot. There, he meets Julie, an astronomy teacher who’s always looked to the stars for hope. As the Christmas spirit washes over him—and he begins falling for Julie—the once self-centered Nick discovers the joy of helping others.

Christine’s life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between free food banks distributions and wandering the streets. On a cold winter night she founds Suli, an 8-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine understands that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bounded by their marginal condition, they embark together on an emotional journey to find Suli’s mother in the underground world of Paris...

A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.

Young at heart graduate student Becca strikes up an unlikely friendship with Emily, a quiet girl who recently lost her mother. With every passing play date chaperoned by Emily's father, Becca helps Emily come out of her shell and cope with her loss, and Emily teaches Becca to take on adult responsibilities. When a romance develops between Becca and Nate, though, the two must learn to balance their new relationship with Nate's responsibility to Emily, and with Becca's responsibility to finish her education.

On vacation at his ranch, western actor Roy quickly finds himself involved with a horse rustling operation and a boy ward of one of the rustlers, leading to the kidnapping of Roy's trick horse Trigger by the gang with a demand for ransom.