Ferzan Özpetek has an indisputable quality: generosity. A generosity understood not in the venal sense of the term, but romantic, enclosed in his continuous desire to tell stories and open up to the other, in the full spirit of sharing, whether with a reader, with a spectator or with an audience that is all ears , sitting listening to you.
This is what we saw in the special meeting organized by the Taormina Film Fest to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Le Fate Ignoranti, a blockbuster film that gave a strong impetus to Ozpetek’s career and that has become, over the years, a real phenomenon. cultural.
Against the backdrop of the bucolic (and enchanting) setting of Casa Cuseni, the director from Istanbul shared his artistic path with the public, telling numerous anecdotes related to the fairies and his career. At the beginning of the 2000s, Ferzan had returned from two discreet successes, “The Turkish Bath” and “Harem Suarem”, which had given him notoriety even abroad.
Where did the idea of creating the “Ignorant Fairies” come from?
“I WANTED TO SHOOT A FILM UNDER MY HOUSE, AT THE GAZOMETER, IN THE OSTIENSE DISTRICT OF ROME, WHICH WAS NOT EVEN WELL SEEN AT THE TIME. BASED ON TWO PERSONAL STORIES, THERE WAS A BOY WHO ATTENDED MY HOUSE AND THEN I DISCOVERED HAD A FAMILY BEHIND. A FACT THAT INTRIGUED ME VERY MUCH, ON WHICH I THEN BUILT THE PLOT OF THE FILM TOGETHER WITH GIANNI ROMOLI ”.
One of the first obstacles to overcome was the lack of enthusiasm of the production company, Medusa, not convinced by the possibilities of the film:
“THEY TOLD ME THAT THE FILM WOULD NOT HAVE SUCCESS, THAT NO ONE WOULD UNDERSTAND IT AND THAT THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE LITTLE INVOLVED. THEN HE WAS SELECTED IN COMPETITION IN BERLIN, ALSO THERE I SAID “WAIT FOR IT TO COME OUT IN ITALY, YOU’LL SEE”. THE FILM WAS READY TO RELEASE IN JANUARY 2001, BUT I WAS TOLD TO WAIT. IN THE MEAN TIME MUCCINO FINISHED SHOOTING “THE LAST KISS” ALWAYS WITH THE PROTAGONIST STEFANO HURT AND THINK A LITTLE, HE WAS ABLE TO GET IT OUT BEFORE MINE! WE ARRIVED IN THE ROOMS IN MARCH, AND THERE A STRANGE EFFECT TAKEN. SUCCESS ARRIVED ONLY AFTER TWO WEEKS, IN WAVES. PEOPLE BEGAN TO STOP ME AND TELL ME THAT I HAD OPENED A NEW WORLD ”
How did you choose Margherita Buy?
“I SAW HER AT THE VENICE FESTIVAL WHERE I WAS PRESENT IN A JURY. WE WRITTEN THE SCREEN OF THE FAIRIES AND I TALKED ABOUT IT TO MARGHERITA DURING A DINNER. LUNCHES AND DINNERS. ONE DAY DAISY CAME UP TO ME AND TOLD ME THAT HE CANNOT PARTICIPATE BECAUSE IN SWEET WAITING. SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT GIANNI AND I DID? WE HAVE CHANGED THE SCREEN AND MADE HER PREGNANT CHARACTER “.
Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi in “The Ignorant Fairies”
Why this title, The Ignorant Fairies?
“I WAS IN ISTANBUL, SERRA [YLMAZ] GIVE ME A BOOK BY THE PAINTER MAGRITTE. I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH GIANNI, WE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO FIND A TITLE FOR THE FILM. THEN I OPEN THE BOOK AND READ” THE IGNORING FAIRY “S. AND HERE WE WERE IT. ”
A story, that of the Ignorant Fairies, that Ferzan has decided to expand and deepen through a TV series that he has been shooting in recent months, entitled “Ignorant Angels” (following the English title of the film), produced by Disney and arriving on the platform Disney + star
“IN THE SERIES WE TELL THE PRE, OR THE BACKGROUND OF THE FILM. I AM SURPRISED MYSELF WHEN WRITING IT. THERE IS A GREAT CAST BEHIND, AMONG WHICH LUCA ARGENTERO WHO THANKS IN A PARTICULAR WAY FOR WHAT IT HAS BEEN AVAILABLE TO ST. YOU KNOW. ON THE SET, I IMMEDIATELY INTO THE SPECTATORS IN A VISCERAL WAY, ALMOST CANCELED ME AS A DIRECTOR. THIS LEADS ME TO REWRITE THE FILMS EVERY DAY, BECAUSE I ENJOY THE ENERGY THAT COMES FROM THE NOVELTY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FILM THE GODDESS OF LUCK, THE SCENE OF THE LIT BETWEEN ACCORSI AND LEO ON THE FERRY, WHEN THE KETCHUP IS LAUNCHED, WE INVENTED IT AT THE MOMENT AND WE WERE MOVED FOR HOW WELL IT TURNED OUT. EVEN WITH THE MI SERIES, IT HAS CONTINUED SUCCESS.
Ozpetek then told of his deep bond with Southern Italy, including Sicily:
“I HAVE THE CITIZENSHIP OF PALERMO AND I LOVE THE WHOLE SOUTH. FOR ME THE ITALIAN CULTURE IS HERE. I WOULD HAVE A HUGE PROJECT TO DO IN SICILY, IT IS A WORLD LEVEL SERIES. UNFORTUNATELY IT WOULD TAKE AWAY TWO FULL YEARS, AND CURRENTLY CANNOT . BUT WHO KNOWS. ”
If there is an actor or actress with whom he would like to work, Ozpetek has no doubts: Matilda De Angelis, who among other things received the TFF67 Best Actress award yesterday for her interpretation. in Atlas.
I MEET MATILDA DE ANGELIS HERE IN TAORMINA, I HAVE BOOKED IT! I WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU VERY MUCH.
