IN THIS PAGE:
- Cecilia Strada for Bookciak, Azione
- The return of the Red Carpet
Cecilia Strada for Bookciak, Azione: «A movie shaped my sense of justice»
«A movie has the scope of the years of my conferences»: Cecilia Strada underlines her faith in the power of cinema to influence people. It’s not by chance that the former President of Emergency, now committed to the ONG ResQ – People Saving People to help migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, led the jury (also composed of Wilma Labate, Teresa Marchesi and Gianluca Arcopinto) of the XI edition of Bookciak, Azione! Award, created and helmed by Gabriella Gallozzi. During the pre-opening event of Venice Days in Sala Laguna were awarded the winners of the contest that makes cinema and literature meet through “bookciak”, short movies based on novels chosen by a jury composed of Antonietta De Lillo, Laura Pugno, Rossana Rummo e Presidente of the Jury Marino Sinibaldi. It was an all-female palmarès: Beatrice Perego won for Due case (Based on Sindrome Italia), Giulia Marilungo for Radici (based on Ninna nanna delle mosche), Manola Massimo for Bad Vibes (based on Neroconfetto), Giulia Maggio, Ambra Lupini and Sara Maffi for Il periodo (based on Imperfetto futuro, for the section Memory Ciak, in collaboratin with LiberEtà, Spi-CGIL and Premio Zavattini). Sofia abbraccia il mondo is based on the same novel and was presented in the new section LiberaMente, shorts made by the visitors of the Daily Centre of Mental Health Antonino Di Giorgio (ASL Roma 1). “Open Sea” is the theme chosen for this year’s Bookciak, according to the experience of Cecilia Strada, who, talking about cinema, confesses being «a medium-low spectator». But the movie Cry Freedom, with Denzel Washington who plays Steven Biko, was part of her awareness about «the meaning of justice. The movie talks about apartheid in South Africa. I was a little child and I said to myself “this is wrong!”».
Gianfranco Rosi’s Fuocoammare is, according to Strada, one of the most significant movies in recent times about the drama of migration. «A constant topic of the perpetual election campaign made exploiting the lives of poor people with massive cultural damages. There’s no invasion, the only “migrants emergency” is their own being victims of the Italian and European shame of the pushbacks to Libya». Some trust for the future can arrive from the young Bookciak filmmakers sharing the need to «tell stories that older people try to avoid. Among those, there’s even mental health that in Italy has an incredible stigma. Probably because looking closer, we discover that no one is “normal”».
Emanuele Bucci
The gaze of others’ red carpet
Red is the colour of magic, divinity, empires, of religion. It symbolizes strength, life and energy. Victory, blood, power. Walking on a red carpet means triumphing in the gaze of those looking for success.
Everyone flocks around the red carpet. Because everyone has the desire to walk on the red carpet of those triumphs. And feel the cameras pointing at their consciousness. Being watched means being. It’s the limelight on the stage of existence. It’s someone’s victory used as a mirror. Cameras flash and shapes stand out, becoming bigger and more important. Flash of emotions for those scrambling, waiting and focusing on the object of their idolatry turned into heroes to cheer and to whom dedicate the power of dreams. Dreams. Ceremonies are rituals that celebrate joy and the need to fantasize. This year the red carpet is open again to everyone. It’s ready to welcome dreams without boundaries at last.
Flavia Salierno
