Allegra is a young woman with a passion for climbing. Her life is turned upside down by a terrorist attack in which some of her friends got killed. This is the brief synopsis of Atlas, the second feature film by Niccolò Castelli (the firs one, Tutti Giù, opened in Locarno Film Festival 2012)
Matilda De Angelis is the fresh winner of David di Donatello as best supporting actress for The Incredible Story of L’isola delle rose. Atlas is her second “sport movie” after. This a genre that European cinema probably hasn’t explored enough instead of the strong feelings that often offers.
Especially when is supported by a solid history, just like happens in Atlas, which, not surprisingly, was chosen by the artistic direction for the international competition of the 67th Taormina Film Festival.
«Allegra», explains Castelli, «savors her full freedom before the dramatic event that changes her life. She believes she has a bright future ahead ready to grasp. When she hits reality – hard, naked and raw as the rock of our mountains – the effect is devastating“.
What is at stake for the woman is therefore not to sink into a spiral of loneliness because of fear and hatred. The opportunity to overcome the trauma could come from the encounter with Arad (Helmi Dridi), a refugee from the Middle East.
The idea of the film has its roots before the pandemic, but the themes that raises have not lost their relevance, as the director points out:
«THE NEED TO WRITE ATLAS ARRIVED ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, IN A VERY PARTICULAR, DECISIVE MOMENT. JUST AS IT HAPPENS WITH THE CURRENT PANDEMIC, WHICH AFFECTS MANY ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES, AT THAT TIME I HAD THE FEELING THAT SOMETHING WAS INSINTERING INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE WITHOUT ABANDONING US: FEAR “.
And, given (and hoping) that Covid will abandon us soon, we must not forget that the worst virus for our civil coexistence is precisely the fear of the other.
“Atlas“, continues Castelli, “is an attempt to understand how it is possible to overcome our fears sharing and opening up to diversity. We have to understand each other to feel truly free, just like where you’re on the top of a mountain almost touching the sky, we need to open to one another. When everyone yearns for freedom, Atlas tells of a great effort for a real conquest of this freedom».
The film is produced by Michela Pini (Favolacce) and Vili Hermann’s Imagofilm Lugano, and was nominated for the 2021 Swiss Film Award for Best Film and Best Cinematography (by Pietro Zuercher).
The cast also includes Irene Casagrande, Nicola Perot, Anna Manuelli, Kevin Blaser and Neri Marcorè.
