“Il Maestro Degli Errori” and “La Vera Leggenda di Tony Vilar” showcase the breadth of contemporary Italian cinema, which is celebrated through an ongoing film festival at Shangri-La Plaza until Oct. 21.

Both movies are about real life persons whose decisions made during critical times have motivated the filmmakers to delve deeper into their stories.

“Il Maestro Degli Errori,” which also goes by the English title, “The Heretic,” revolves around Cecco d’Ascoli, a scientist, poet and teacher of medicine who stood firmly by his beliefs even if it meant being convicted of heresy, thus, his death at the stake in 1327.

Director Pietro Maria Benfatti captured the era of Inquisition when personal agenda and connections could seal the fate of a suspected heretic. This way, the viewer understands why despite Cecco’s sound defense of astrology and predestination, he was still convicted of practicing witchcraft and unorthodoxy. 

On the other hand, “La Vera Leggenda di Tony Vilar (The True Legend of Tony VIlar)” is set in the late 2000s but evokes the ‘60s, when the titular subject shot to musical fame in Argentina. It underscores Tony’s unchanging influence on Peppe Voltarelli who wants to know why the singing star dropped out of the scene at the height of his career.

Peppe, a distant relative of Tony and likewise a musician, travels from their Italian hometown to the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires and finally to New York (with side trips to New Jersey and Connecticut) to hear the reason from Tony himself.

Along the way, Peppe meets various characters who, being fellow Italians, willingly help him trace Tony’s whereabouts. This way, the viewer learns a lot about the Italians and their culture.

It also entertains especially when the cast breaks into a choreographed song number and when the viewer does a double take on the veracity of Tony’s story.

Then again, the Giuseppe Gagliardi-directed “The True Legend of Tony Vilar” is not billed as a musical mockumentary for nothing.