Opening the festival on September 22 at 7pm is God Willing (Se Dio Vuole), a comedy about an authoritarian atheist surgeon who is shocked when his son announces that he wants to become a priest and decides to find out what's behind this. It will be screened again on September 26 and on October 10 at 6.30pm.

Closing the festival is a restoration of the 1970 Bernardo Bertolucci film The Conformist, about a man in Italy in the late 1930s who joins the Fascists and is sent to Paris to spy on and murder his former teacher.

Black Souls (Anime Nere), screening on September 23 and October 3 at 6.30pm and October 6 at 1.30pm, is an award-winning crime thriller in which Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane), the eldest of the three Carbone brothers, has turned his back on the family drug operation and seeks a simple life raising goats with his wife and 20-year-old son Leo (Giuseppe Fumo). But Leo idolises his uncles and is determined to make his mark.

Another award-winner – this one a comedy – is The Legendary Giulia (Noi e la Giulia), in which three down-on-their-luck men meet by chance looking at a country property and decide to combine their resources to start a bed and breakfast. It's on September 25 at 8.30pm. Then there's Latin Lover, another comedy, in which the five daughters of Italian star Saverio Crispo – born of five different women – mark the anniversary of their father's passing by gathering in his home town to piece together the puzzle of his life and secrets. It's on September 30 at 7pm, October 2 at 1.30pm and October 8 at 6.30pm.

And in My Mother (Mia Madre), Margherita (Margherita Buy) is a short-tempered director dealing with emotional turmoil and struggling to remain professional who can't separate her private life from her work (September 26 at 8.30pm, October 8 at 1.30pm, October 11 at 4pm).

There are a couple of biopics: Oriana (L'Oriana), about the international career of the uncompromising Italian journalist and writer Oriana Fallaci (October 3, 1.30pm), and Leopardi (Il Giovane Favoloso), about the difficult life and influential work of 19th-century poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (September 28 at 8.30pm).

And there's drama, too. For example, in An Italian Name (Il Nome del Figlio) Paolo (Alessandro Gassman), who is married to Simona (Micaela Ramazzotti), reveals at a dinner party what he would like to name his son, leading to a torrent of reactions and revelations. It's on September 23 at 1.30pm, October 2 at 6.30pm and October 9 at 1.30pm.

Also with a culinary setting is The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi), in which the already tense relationship between two brothers and their wives (who dislike each other) is made worse when it appears their children have been involved in a serious crime. (September 27 at 4.30pm, October 5 at 1.30pm, October 9 at 8.30pm).

There are documentaries such as Italy in a Day (Un Giorno Da Italiani), a collage of 632 videos sent from all over the country and The Devil's Soup (La Zuppa del Demonio) exploring the industrial miracles of the 20th century.

And there are romances such as Wondrous Boccacio (Maraviglioso Boccaccio), a reinterpretation of The Decameron, and What a Beautiful Surprise (Ma Che Bellasorpresa), in which a jilted hopeless romantic is given a second chance for love.

And there's still more – the family movie Italo, about the life-altering friendship between a dog and a boy, the English-language triptych of adult fairytales Tales of Tales (Il Raccoto Dei Racconti) with a cast including Salma Hayek, Toby Jones and Vincent Cassel and the coming-of-age tale Chlorine (Cloro), in which 17-year-old Jenny (Sara Serraiocco) must leave behind her life and her beloved synchronised swimming team when she is forced to relocate to the remote Abruzzo Mountains after tragedy strikes.

These are just a few of the films on offer. There are more discoveries to be made at the 2015 Lavazza Italian Film Festival – check the website for more information.

The 2015 Lavazza Italian Film Festival. September 22-October 11. Most movies in Italian and subtitled. Palace Electric. Website: italianfilmfestival.com.au.