MIRNA a film by Corso Salani

Transcription

1 Vivo film and ventura film present MIRNA a film by Corso Salani FILMMAKERS OF THE PRESENT produced by Vivo film, ventura film and Corso Salani in partnership with Fuori Orario / RAI Tre and RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera

2 The screenings Wednesday, August 12 th Kursaal Theatre, 4 p.m. - press screening Thursday, August 13 th FEVI, 11 a.m. - official screening Friday, August 14 th L altra sala, 4:15 p.m. - second screening Saturday, August 15 th Ascona, Cinema Otello, 2 p.m. - third screening Credits MIRNA a film by Corso Salani produced by Vivo film (Italy), ventura film (Switzerland) and Corso Salani in partnership with Fuori Orario / RAI Tre and RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera Mirna is Magalí Lopez Monica s voice is Anita Kravos sound Marianna Bacci music Marcadores Nuevos written and edited by Corso Salani and Vanessa Picciarelli direction and cinematography Corso Salani produced by Gregorio Paonessa for Vivo film, by Elda Guidinetti and Andres Pfaeffli for ventura film and by Corso Salani Italy/Switzerland, 75, colour, Beta Digital 16/9 anamorphic 2009, Vivo film-corso Salani-ventura film Contacts Vivo film srl Via Alamanno Morelli Roma tel fax [email protected] - In Locarno: Marta Donzelli ( ); Francesca Zanza ( ) ventura film Al castello CH 6866 Meride Switzerland tel fax [email protected] Press agent Barbara Perversi [email protected] - cell World Sales Vivo film 2

3 The film There is a place in the world to which each and every one of us belongs. Mirna is searching for this place. It is somewhere in the Andes. She has been there before, but she can t seem to find it anymore. It may be an insignificant patch of land, but to her, it is home. Thus, she sets off from her hometown of Buenos Aires. It is too big, too complicated for her. She travels across town every day, cutting from one end of it to the other. She shuts herself inside a kiosk from which she sells sweets and tobacco. She spends her life there, looking at the people passing by. Just as she has decided to leave, Mirna meets Monica and everything changes. The two women love each other, the two bodies need each other to exist. Everything around them, the city and the whole world, seems to vanish. Through Monica s eyes and words (the only traces we have of Mirna s presence) the relationship between these two women is recounted in the form of a melancholy yet compelling film diary. Her memory of Mirna and every moment spent with her are relived a thousand of times, until they are consumed like a breathtaking obsession, or a disease no one could heal. All Monica has left of everything she experienced with Mirna is a letter she wrote just before leaving. In it, Mirna speaks of the cause of their impossible love: that long lost place from her past, a place which now beckons her. Miles from Buenos Aires, we follow Mirna on her quest through the harsh Andean wasteland, a vain and blind search which seems to lead nowhere. One day, Mirna finally does find her long-sought place. She stumbles onto it by chance, just as she had found Monica, and nothing was ever the same again. 3

4 Director s statement Mirna s story is one of loss and pursuit. It is the story of Mirna s quest through the Andes for the place where she will find herself and of Monica s loss in her own reminiscence. These compelling and passionate memories, which are at once painful and elusive, are the only thing that can fill the void left by Mirna. Our characters voyage is twofold. It is a physical search, an open hunt across the snow-capped Andean peaks, peaks which are so majestic and distant as to seem as unreachable as the object of Mirna s quest, but it is also Monica s intimate, obsessive and tormented attempt to make sense of a love and its end. This twofold voyage informs the very nature of the film itself. On the one hand, its vision opens onto the Andean landscapes traversed by Mirna, capturing their vast beauty and harsh desolation which echo her state of being. On the other, the camera adopts Monica s perspective in order to examine the forces which have propelled her on this emotional journey: Mirna herself and the obsessive memory of their moments spent together in Buenos Aires, moments in which the city is nothing more than a blurry backdrop to their story. Mirna s body is the true protagonist of the film s lengthy urban sequences. Its landscape is explored inch by inch and scrutinized by Monica s gaze in a compulsive attempt to grab hold of its memory so as not to lose it nor lose herself. Indeed, by annulling herself in her emotions, Monica loses her material form, thus all that is left of her is her voice, a voice which pursues images and then overtakes them, as if Monica s past experiences were in a race against Mirna s present-day travels. The only chance for common ground beyond the limitations set by time and space is memory. Corso Salani, August

5 Biographical notes Corso Salani, born in Florence in 1961, graduated in 1984 from the local Istituto di Scienze Cinematografiche. Since 1985 he has lived in Rome. In 1989 he realized his first long feature film, Voci d Europa, awarded the Special Prize at the Festival Riminicinema. In 1995 he taught a course on low-cost cinema at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. In 1999 he taught Italian at the Italian Academy in Warsaw. Tireless traveller, he both directs and acts. Among his interpretations we may mention:il muro di gomma by Marco Risi, Il Conto Montecristo by Ugo Gregoretti, Mar Nero by Federico Bondi and recently ll mostro di Firenze, by Antonello Grimaldi, to be released next Autumn. Among his feature films, Gli occhi stanchi (1995), Occidente (2000), Corrispondenze private (2002), Palabras (2003); among his several documentaries: Cono Sur (1998), Tre donne in Europa (2004), C è un posto in Italia, and the celebrated sixdocumentaries-series Borders of Europe ( ), produced by Vivo film, to which Locarno Film Festival dedicated a retrospective last year. In June 2008 he made his debut as novelist, with the novel Pochi metri d occidente [A few western meters], published by Donzelli Publishing House, inspired by the third episode of the Borders of Europe series, Imatra, awarded the Jury Special Prize in Locarno 2007 within the Filmmakers of the Present competition. 5

6 Filmography 2008 Le vite possibili, digital, colour, 50 ; images edited in Chile, Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Rumania, Hungary, Israel, for Palabras, 2003, Tre donne in Europa, 2004, Confini d Europa, ; produced by Vivo film Confini d Europa (Borders of Europe) (#1 Ceuta e Gibilterra, #2 Rio de Onor, #3 Imatra, #4 Talsi, #5 Chişinau inau #6 Yotvata), digital, colour, six 52 episodes; a series produced by Vivo film in partnership with Rai 3 Fuori orario. 61 st Locarno Film Festival, 19 th Trieste Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival 2009; the third episode was awarded the Jury Special Prize Filmmakers of the Present Competition at Locarno Film Festival 2007; Tracce (Traces), digital and super8mm, colour with b/w inserts, 13 ; produced by Vivo film and Corso Salani. Bellaria Film Festival Anteprima Doc 2007 Il peggio di noi (Our Worst Side), digital, colour, 88 ; produced by Balaton Film. Bellaria Film Festival 2006; 59 th Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Locarno 2005 C è un posto in Italia (There is a Place in Italy), beta, colour, 50 ; produced by Pablo. Turin Film Festival; Roma Doc Festival 2004 Tre donne in Europa (Three Women in Europe), beta, colour, 52 ; produced by Fandango and Vitagraph. Turin Film Festival; Alpe Adria Trieste; Filmmaker Milano 2003 Palabras, 35 mm, colour, 88 ; produced by Pablo and Balaton Film. Turin Film Festival; Alpe Adria Trieste; Freistadt (Austria) International Film Festival; Alexandria Film Festival 2002 Corrispondenze private (Private correspondences), beta, 90 ; produced by Balaton Film. Turin Film Festival; Alpe Adria Trieste 2000 Occidente (West), 35 mm, colour, 90 ; produced by Pablo. Turin Film Festival; Alpe Adria Trieste; Edimburgh Film Festival; Annecy Cinéma Italien, Best Actress; Freistadt (Austria) International Film Festival 1998 Cono Sur, beta, 100 ; produced by Tele+. Turin Film Festival; Festival del Documentario Italiano di San Benedetto del Tronto, Best Italian Documentary 1995 Gli occhi stanchi (Tired Eyes), beta, colour, 90 ; produced by Balaton Film. Alpe Adria Trieste; Anteprima del Cinema Indipendente di Bellaria 1991 Gli ultimi giorni (Last Days), 16 mm, 90 ; produced by Balaton Film. Rimini Cinema; Berlino Film Festival, Sezione Forum; Anteprima del Cinema indipendente di Bellaria 1989 Voci d Europa (Voices of Europe), 16 mm, 90 ; produced by Balaton Film. Rimini Cinema, Jury Special Prize; Ales International Film Festival; Mostra del Cinema italiano di Lugano; Rotterdam Film Festival; Festival del Cinema italiano di Roma; Annecy Cinéma Italien. 6

7 Technical and artistical cast VANESSA PICCIARELLI Born in Bari in 1977, she graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, where she lives and works. She has written the screenplay of several short films. Two of them have been included in the serialized film Sei pezzi facili, coproduced by RAI and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and il gioco più bello del mondo, produced by Paolo Virzì for Motorino Amaranto in collaboration with Medusa Film. She has written two episodes of the series I Liceali 2, produced by Tao Due in collaboration with Motorino Amaranto for Mediaset. During the past years she has been working with Corso Salani, with whom she has written and edited the series Borders of Europe, produced by Vivo film in collaboration with Rai Tre, directed by Corso Salani. MAGALÍ LOPEZ Magalí Lopez was born in Balcarce, in the province of Buenos Aires, on December, 28, In 2005 she moved to the capital, in order to attend the Escuela Metropolitana de Arte Dramatico, which will last until November, Parallel to her studies, Magalí Lopez takes part to several theatre show. Among them Autobiografias, la vida pasa por otro lado, that is still being put on in many theatres in Buenos Aires. Mirna is her first film. ANITA KRAVOS Polyglot Italian actress, she studied in Moscow and Venice. She works in theatre, cinema, and television. She has starred in films by Giovanni Veronesi, Luca Lucini, Renato De Maria, Francesco Munzi. She has been acknowledged several awards as Best actress for her protagonist role in Come l ombra by Marina Spada (2007) in both Italian (Bimbi Belli, Gallio) and foreign festivals (Mons, Ajaccio, Paris Nouvel Air among others). This year she has played the main role in Francesco Jost s film, Segreti e sorelle [Secrets and Sisters], produced by ventura film. 7

8 Vivo film, founded at the beginning of 2004 by Gregorio Paonessa and Marta Donzelli, is a production and distribution company of art house films and documentary films. During these years Vivo film has collaborated with the main Italian broadcasters (Rai channels, Mediaset, Fox) and with some among the main European broadcasters. Among Vivo film s partners: Istituto Luce, Rai Cinema, Rai Trade, Rai Teche, French INA, The Documentary Channel Canada, Fiat Auto, Comune di Roma, Regione Emilia Romagna, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Film Commission Piemonte, Rizzoli, Donzelli Editore. In 2007 Vivo film has been awarded the David di Donatello as Best Documentary Film for Daniele Vicari s Il mio paese, and the Pardo d Oro Jury Special Prize Filmmakers of the Present Competition at the 60 th Locarno Film Festival for Corso Salani s Imatra. In summer 2008 Vivo film was in Locarno presenting Nelo Risi s film, Possible Meetings. Two Poets two voices and Corso Salani s series, Borders of Europe, whom the festival dedicated a retrospective to. Later in 2008, Pippo Mezzapesa s film, Pinuccio Lovero has been screened in Venice as closing event of the International Critics Week. Mezzapesa s film has also been screened in competition in November 2008 at prestigious Amsterdam s IDFA. Still in 2008, Vivo film was at Turin Film Festival with Chiara Malta s Armando & Politics, which was the opening event at the international section dedicated to cinema and politics, Lo Stato delle Cose, and Unauthorized Use, by Luca Gasparini and Alberto Masi, in competition at Italiana doc. Vivo film is currently devoting itself to the post-production of Michelangelo Frammartino s The Four Times, which is due to be completed by the end of the year. Frammartino s film, in coproduction with German Essential Filmproduktion, Swiss Ventura Film and Invisibile Film, will be distributed by Istituto Luce and The Coproduction Office. It was the only Italian project to be awarded the prestigious Torino Film Lab Production Award. Moreover The Four Times has been financed by MIBAC, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Eurimages, ARTE/ZDF and TSI. Productions Lo specchio (The Mirror), by David Christensen, in coproduction with Agitprop Films, supported by Piemonte Doc Film Fund (85, digital, 2009). 62 nd Locarno Film Festival; Con la furia di un ragazzo. Un ritratto di Bruno Trentin (With the Fury of a Boy), by Franco Giraldi, in coproduction with Fondazione Di Vittorio and Archivio del Movimento Operaio e Democratico (84, digital, 2008); Armando e la politica (Armando & Politics), by Chiara Malta, in coproduction with Sacrebleu Productions (France) for Arte ZDF (80, super16mm/digital, 2008). 26 th Turin Film Festival Lo Stato delle Cose; Uso improprio (Unauthorized Use), by Luca Gasparini and Alberto Masi (71, digital, 2008). 26 th Turin Film Festival Italiana doc; Pinuccio Lovero. Sogno di una morte di mezza estate (Pinuccio Lovero. A Midsummmer Death s Dream), by Pippo Mezzapesa, in coproduction with Makò Show and Fanfara Film, with the support of Apulia Film Commission (52, digital, 2008). 65 th Venice Film Festival; Le vite possibili (Possible Lives), by Corso Salani, (50, digital, 2008). 20 Trieste Film Festival, Arcipelago Festival Internazionale di Cortometraggi e Nuove Immagini 2009; Possibili rapporti. Due poeti due voci (Possible Meetings. Two Poets, Two Voices), by Nelo Risi, supported by MIBAC and Regione del Veneto (52, digital, 2008). 61 st Locarno Film Festival; Scemi di guerra. La follia nelle trincee (War s Fools. Madness in the Trenches), by Enrico Verra, for History Channel Italy and RTI, in coproduction with Provincia Autonoma di Trento (50, digital, 2008); L ultima sentinella (The Last Sentry), by Susanna Nicchiarelli, in coproduction with Nicchia Film (52, digital, 2008); 8

9 Confini d Europa (Borders of Europe), a series by Corso Salani produced by Vivo film for Fuori Orario/Rai Tre (digital, 6x52, ); Borders of Europe #3 Imatra won the Jury Special Prize Filmmakers of the Present Competition at Locarno Film Festival 2007; Vincenzo Cerami legge Le mille e una notte (Vincenzo Cerami reads One Thousand and One Night ), tv direction by Giovanni Ribet, produced for Rai Due Palcoscenico in collaboration with Donzelli Editore (70, digital, 2007); Il cuore del soldatino (The Heart of the Tin Soldier), by Guido Chiesa (15, digital, 2007). Bellaria Film Festival Anteprima Doc 2007, Arcipelago Festival Internazionale di Cortometraggi e Nuove Immagini; Tracce (Traces), by Corso Salani (13, digital, 2007). Bellaria Film Festival Anteprima 2007; Il mio paese (My Country), by Daniele Vicari, supported by Associazione Centenario CGIL, in collaboration with RAI Cinema (113, 35mm, 2006). 63 rd Venice Film Festival; David di Donatello 2007 (best documentary film), Italian Dvd Awards 2007 (best Italian documentary); Scorretto (Incorrect), by Marco Presta and Fabio Toncelli, with Marco Presta and Chiara Noschese, tv direction by Giovanni Ribet, executive production for Rai Due Palcoscenico (90, digital, 2007); L ultima utopia. La televisione secondo Rossellini (The Last Utopia. Television according to Rossellini), by Jean-Louis Comolli, in coproduction with Ina, Istituto Luce and Rai Trade (90, digital, 2006). Cinéma du Réel 2006; Stessa spiaggia stesso mare (Souvenir d Italie), by Guido Chiesa, for History Channel Italy, supported by Regione Emilia-Romagna (52, digital, 2006); Giorni in prova. Emilio Rentocchini poeta a Sassuolo (A Life on Trial. Emilio Rentocchini poet in Sassuolo), by Daria Menozzi, supported by Regione Emilia-Romagna (76, digital, 2006). Festival dei Popoli - Italian competition; Papervision #1 Chiara Carrer, by Elisabetta Lodoli (25, digital, 2006). Festival di Palazzo Venezia, Art Doc Fest Roma 2006; Radio Clandestina, by and with Ascanio Celestini, tv direction by Daria Menozzi, executive production for Rai Due Palcoscenico (80, digital, 2004); Site specific_roma 04, by Olivo Barbieri (2004, 12, 35mm). Festival Internazionale di Fotografia di Roma 2004; Locarno Film Festival 2004; Festival du Cinéma Mediterranéen Montpellier 2004; International Film Festival Rotterdam 2005; International Brooklyn Film Festival 2005; Toronto International Film Festival 2005; Hong Kong International Film Festival 2006; Jenjou International Film Festival International distribution Elle s appelle Sabine Sabine, by Sandrine Bonnaire, a Mosaïque Films production, Cannes Film Festival 2007 (France, 85, 35mm, 2007); Il peggio di noi (Our Worst Side), by Corso Salani, produced by Corso Salani, 59th Locarno Film Festival; Bellaria Film Festival 2006 (90, digital, 2006); C è un posto in Italia (There is a Place in Italy), by Corso Salani, produced by Gianluca Arcopinto (58, digital, 2005); Le cinéma passe à table, by Anne Andreu, a Cinétévé production, with the participation of TSR - RTBF - BETV and Centre National de la Cinématographie (France, 52, digital, 2005) I am Alive Søren Ulrik Thomsen, poet, by Jørgen Leth, - a Bech Film ApS production in coproduction with Det Danske Filminstitut, DR TV (Denmark, 40, 35mm, 1999). 9

10 ventura film produces feature and documentary films, in collaboration with European partners. From its beginning, in 1991, it focused on productions that explore and cross borders, both in their form and contents. select filmography 2000 No quarto da Vanda by Pedro Costa, 35mm, 169. Co-produced with Contracosta, Pandora, RTP, ZDF, RTSI. Awards: Locarno International Film Festival: prix du jury des jeunes, special mention official jury, mention jury of cinéclubs - Cinéma du Réel Paris: prix de la Bibliothèque - Yamagata International Documentary Festival: FIPRESCI prize - Cannes Film Festival 2002: France Culture Award, Foreign Cineaste of the Year - Valencia Film Festival: best cinematography 2002 Angel on the Right by Djamshed Usmonov, 35mm, 89. Co-produced with Fabrica Cinema, ArtCam, Asht Village, RTSI, Rai Cinema. Official selection Cannes 2002, Un certain regard. Awards: London Film Festival: FIPRESCI prize - Tokyo Film Festival: special jury prize - Angers European First Film Festival: special jury prize - Singapore International Film Festival: best Asian director - Bratislava International Film Festival: best actor & Ecumenical jury prize - Tromsø International Film Festival: Aurora award and Don Quixote award - Nika award for best CIS and Baltics film - Wiesbaden goeast: special mention 2004 Los muertos by Lisandro Alonso, 35mm, 78. Co-produced with 4L, Fortuna Films, Slot Machine / ARTE, RTSI. Official selection Cannes 2004, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Awards: Torino Film Festival, best film - Cinédécouvertes (Belgique): Golden Age award - Viennale 2004: Standard Reader s prize & FIPRESCI prize - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Czech Television award for the Forum of Independents best film - International Yerevan Film Festival: jury special prize - International Film Festival Santiago de Chile: best film - Festival Paysages de Cinéastes de Chatenay Malabry: special jury prize & best photography - Lima Latin American Film Festival: critics award 2005 Die grosse Stille (Into Great Silence) by Philip Groening, 35mm, 164. Co-produced with Philip Gröning Filmproduktion, BR, ARTE/ZDF, SSR/RTSI. Awards: Sundance Film Festival: special jury prize - Bayerischer Filmpreis 2005: best documentary film - German Critics award - Nomination Deutscher Filmpreis - prix Arte best European documentary Deutscher Kamerapreis - Premio Ennio Flaiano: best camera & best film - German Films: film of the year - Sao Paulo International Film Festival: jury prize 2006 Juventude em marcha by Pedro Costa, 35mm, 155. Co-produced with Contracosta, Unlimited, ARTE, RTP, RTSI. Official selection Cannes 2006, Competition. Awards: Los Angeles Film Critics Association award: Independent/Experimental Film&Video award Volevo solo vivere by Mimmo Calopresti, 35mm, 75. Co-produced with Shoah Foundation, Rai Cinema, Gagè,Wildside media, RTSI Official selection Cannes 2006, out of competition 2007 Fuori dalle corde by Fulvio Bernasconi, 35mm, 86. Co-produced with ITC Movie, Bianca Film, Rai Cinema, RTSI. Awards: Locarno International Film Festival, Silver Leopard (ex aequo) for best actor, Michele Venitucci - Brooklyn International Film Festival: best cinematography - Santa Marinella Film Festival: best film - Annonay International Film Festival: best music - Nomination: Swiss Film Prize for Best Feature Film Salata Baladi by Nadia Kamel, Digital Betacam, 104. Co-produced with Snooze Productions, Les Films d Ici, Citizen Production, RTSI. Locarno International Film Festival 2007, Ici & ailleurs. Awards: San Francisco Arab Film Festival: best documentary - Mumbai International Film Festival: best long documentary & FIPRESCI award - Egypt Certificate of Merit Dutti der Riese by Martin Witz, 35mm, 94. Co-produced with RTSI, Teleclub. Locarno Interntional Film Festival 2007, Ici & ailleurs. Awards: Filmprize City of Zurich - Nomination Prix Walo Vogliamo anche le rose by Alina Marazzi, 35mm, 81. Co-produced with Mir Cinematografica, Rai Cinema, RTSI. Locarno International Film Festival 2007, Piazza Grande Awards: Nomination David di Donatello: best documentary 2009 Segreti e sorelle (Secrets and Sisters) by Francesco Jost, HD, 82, Co-produced with RSI Televisione Svizzera. Solothurn Film Festival, Bergamo Film Meeting Custodi di guerra by Zijad Ibrahimovic, Digital Betacam, 52. Co-produced with RSI- Radiotelevisione svizzera. Locarno International Film Festival, Ici & ailleurs 10