Diva Futura
The third of five Italian films in competition, Giulia Louise Steigerwalt’s Diva Futura brings to the screen the story of Riccardo Schicchi and the porn stars of his agency, the Diva Futura of the title seen through the eyes of his secretary. The protagonists’ words at the press conference:
Giulia Louise Steigerwalt:
I decided to narrate the world of Diva Futura because I expected to find everything but this. I needed to enter it with the initial eyes of Debora, the secretary, who were the eyes of all of us, and then twist the point of view by going in the opposite direction. The violence associated with porn today was not part of Schicchi’s idea. In that family, there was just a great enthusiasm, a kind of unawareness and naivety, from which sorrow ensued.
Pietro Castellitto:
I only knew Schicchi in his twilight years; I discovered the more avant-garde side of the character when I grew up. I realised he had a great adherence between body and thought. Diva Futura is a film about a man who lived the life he wanted to live and remained faithful to the vision of the child inside him. I find it very poetic.
Barbara Ronchi:
I knew Cicciolina, Eva Henger, and Moana Pozzi individually as porn stars, but I knew nothing about the agency; I didn’t know that they were part of a family, that they all lived together, that they helped each other. Thanks to this film, I discovered that they had dreams and personal desires but that when they crossed the threshold of the agency, they were treated very differently.
Denise Capezza:
Playing Moana Pozzi was quite a challenge because she is an icon still alive in the imagination, but little is known about her private life. She died at only 33 years old, and compared to other porn stars, she did not have the chance to tell her story as an adult. It was easy to get in touch with Moana’s public side, her confident and carefree version of herself, but it was much more difficult to tell her private side, her desire for social affirmation.
Il tempo è ancora nostro, at the Venice Days golf as a metaphor for life
It was presented in the Confronti space of Venice Days Il tempo è ancora nostro, Maurizio Matteo Merli’s feature film debut starring Ascanio Pacelli, Mirko Frezza, Miguel Gobbo Diaz, Simone Sabani, Viktorie Ignoto and with the extraordinary participation of Andrea Roncato. A story of redemption that has golf and friendship as a metaphor for life. We talked about it with the three main characters, Ascanio Pacelli (Tancredi), Miguel Gobbo Diaz (Paco) and Andrea Roncato (Costantino):
BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE HUMAN MIND IN FLAVIA SALIERNO’ S BOOK
The ancient and always close link between cinema and psychoanalysis was discussed at the presentation of the book Il cinema sul lettino. Libere associazioni di una psicoanalista tra cinema e psiche (Free associations of a psychoanalyst between cinema and psyche) by Flavia Salierno, contributor of Ciak for the column Psicocinema, whose texts are collected in the book, enriched by an introduction by the author on the intersections between the seventh art and the science founded by Sigmund Freud. ‘I didn’t think that the psychoanalytic approach interested so many people,’ said Salierno, commenting on the success of her column among readers. In conversation with Ciak director Flavio Natalia, the author reflected on some of the most significant titles that passed through Venice 81, such as the second Joker (which focuses on ‘what can happen when two psychoses get stuck‘), the family fresco intertwined with the drama of the Brazilian desaparecidos Ainda estou aqui, and Why War, which takes its cue from Freud’s correspondence with Albert Einstein. Salierno also praised the success of Paola Cortellesi’s There’s Still Tomorrow for her ability to ‘make such a difficult and topical subject simple and accessible‘.
ALESSANDRO RAK: FII – LO STUPORE DEL MONDO
FII – The Wonder of the World is the animated short Out of Competition at Orizzonti made in four months by Alessandro Rak to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the world’s oldest public university and was produced by Mad Entertainment in collaboration with the Federico II University in Naples.
Going down in history as Stupor Mundi, Frederick II (who is voiced by Massimiliano Gallo in the short) wore several crowns on his head, including that of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire but his controversial relationship with the Papacy cost him three excommunications.
“When the University of Naples Federico II proposed me to make this short film on the figure of Frederick II of Swabia, I knew it would not be easy to satisfy the palate of the expert commissioners. In a few minutes I would not have been able to make something exhaustive or that would shed new light on such a relevant historical figure. Instead, I thought I would focus my thoughts on the audience I was really interested in targeting: college students. The short film is dedicated to them.”
Oscar Cosulich
VALDITARA AWARDS STUDENTS FOR FILMS ON GENDER VIOLENCE
Five schools are the winners of the competition With a Gaze—student films on violence against women, which was awarded yesterday at the Biennale, the natural destination of the project promoted by the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Ministry of Culture. Claudia Gerini was the special godmother of the event.
‘We were impressed,’ explained Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education,’ by the positive response of the young people who joined the project. The winning short films are engaging, authentic, enthusiastic, and show respect for human beings regardless of origin, affiliation or style‘. Valditara awarded the prizes to the secondary school students together with Eugenia Roccella (Minister for Family, Birth and Equal Opportunities), the chairwoman of the parliamentary enquiry commission on feminicides and gender violence Martina Semenzato, and the councillors of the Veneto region Laura Besio (youth policies) and Cristiano Corazzari (culture and tourism).
Alessandra Farro
FROM THE STARS OF VENICE TO THE ICONS OF TURIN
The passion for cinema, celebrated again this year at the Venice Film Festival, is also nurtured through collecting. Movie Icons. Oggetti dai set di Hollywood is an exhibition open until 13 January at the National Cinema Museum in Turin, organised by the latter with the Theatrum Mundi Gallery of Arezzo and curated by the two directors, Domenico De Gaetano and Luca Cableri. One hundred seventeen original props, costumes and memorabilia from Hollywood sets, including Forrest Gump’s feather, Harry Potter’s wand, and the helmet of Star Wars’ imperial troops, for an exhibition that, says De Gaetano, aims to ‘outline a logbook, almost a map of the rapid creative and technological changes in cinema, through its symbolic objects‘. Responding, adds Enzo Ghigo, President of the Turin Museum, to a twofold aim: ‘On the one hand to make spectacular exhibitions that attract the general audience and on the other to devise proposals that will appeal to a younger target‘.
