​The Bicycle Thief is regularly voted one of the greatest films of all time. It was a key example of the Italian ‘cinema of the real’ which heralded a new kind of cinematic naturalism, employing non-professional actors and filming on the streets of a post-war Europe. 

Antonio, a poor father, is on the first day of a new job gluing movie posters onto street walls in poverty-stricken Rome when his hard-earned bicycle is stolen. 

Distraught, Antonio and his little boy Bruno (Enzo Staiola) desperately criss-cross the city trying to recover it, navigating difficult interactions with the police, hostile crowds, city offices, and home. 

De Sica spent his childhood in Naples and was an actor as well as the director of many renowned neo-realist films which highlighted contemporary social issues, and often included touching father/son relationships.

Winner of the 1950 Academy Honorary Award for outstanding cinematic achievement.  Umbrella.