Isabella Ferrari- the Damsel and the Thinker

Isabella Ferrari is a versatile actress whose trademark pouty lips and intense, melancholy eyes have been gracing Italian screens for more than three decades. Born in Piacenza on March 31, 1964, Ferrari has perfected the art of playing contrasting roles like the damsel in distress and the complicated, intellectual. Influenced by Italian auteur cinema, which encompasses the neo-realistic approach to filmmaking, she delivers powerful performances with each role she tackles.

Ferrari's small screen debut goes back to 1981 in Gianni Boncompagni's television program, "Under the Stars." Two years later, she made her big screen debut in the summer comedy, "Il ras del quartiere." Diego Abatantuono, the star of the Oscar winning film, "Mediterraneo," co-wrote and starred in the film, which put Isabella Ferrari on the map and she hasn't stopped working since.

Open Roads 2005: Isabella Ferrari, Antonio Monda and Renato De Maria

With dozens of films to her credit, Ferrari's successes include the drama, "Amatemi" (Love Me), "Arrivederci amore, ciao" (The Goodbye Kiss), "Saturno contro" (Saturn in Opposition), and "Caos calmo" (Quiet chaos) just to name a few.

In "Amatemi," which was directed by her husband, Renato De Maria, Ferrari plays the role of Nina, a 35 year old woman married since she was just 15. One day, her husband, the center of her universe, suddenly leaves following a huge argument. Nina falls into the solitude of her memories, and cuts herself off from the world, until one day, a ray of sunlight literally shines into her apartment, bringing new hope to her life. She ventures out again into the world and meets people who awaken her spirit and she decides to grow and change with the world around her. The character calls on the neorealistic approach to acting that Ferrari is known for. She carries the film with the eloquence and class of an experienced leading lady. There are scenes in the film that have no dialogue and just use the expression in her eyes as the voice of her soul.

In Michele Soavi's, "Arrivederci amore, ciao" (The Goodbye Kiss), Ferrari takes on the challenging role of Flora, a woman who becomes a prostitute to pay off her husband's debts. Ferrari gives a tremendous, heart-wrenching performance, which earned her a David di Donatello nomination for Best Actress in 2006. "Flora is one of the most beautiful parts in this movie. She is a provincial lady who runs a shoe shop. She ends up selling her body to pay off her husband's debts. She is a sacrificial lamb or, as Soavi calls her, an angel," Ferrari explained.

Her character in Ferzan Ozpetek's 2006 film, "Saturno contro," articulates the conflicts of a woman torn between morally sound choices and sexual, emotional freedom. Her character, Laura, has an affair with a younger, married man. You can sense the guilt and passion between the two actors as they articulately portray the mistress and unfaithful husband. Ozpetek's all-star cast made the film an instant success and gave testament to the range of Isabella Ferrari's acting.

In Antonello Grimaldi's 2007 film, "Caos calmo," Ferrari interprets the role of Eleonora Simoncini, a pivotal character in the film. The plot explores the poignant, sometimes fragile subjects of loss, rediscovery and love. The role gave Ferrari an opportunity to work with her best friend and fellow actress, Valeria Golino, and also won her another nomination for the David di Donatello; this time for Best Supporting Actress.

Ferrari continues to work in diverse projects in both television and cinema always challenging herself to grow as an artist.

- Jeannine Guilyard

Comments

7 Days - 7 Women: Interview with Actress Sabrina Impacciatore

Photo by Rossella Vetrano On Day 6 of our series, 7 Days - 7 Women, in which we are profiling seven strong, talented women working as filmmakers, writers or visual artists, we talk with actress Sabrina Impacciatore about the diversity of her roles. Whether she's playing a devoted mother trying to protect her child, Jesus Christ's "Veronica" in Mel Gibson's controversial film, "Passion of the Christ" or a young woman coming of age, Impacciatore escapes into the life and mind of each character she takes on, sometimes so deeply that she believes she is actually them. It's a fine line between reality and fiction, but she treads it carefully and anyone watching her performance benefits from her emotional connection to the character that she becomes. I spoke with Impacciatore at the 2010 Open Roads: New Italian Film series in New York City. We talked about her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. She also gave me some insight into the diff

Michelangelo Frammartino's "Il buco" — Unearthing our past

When a team of speleologists descended 700 meters into the Bifurto Abyss in Cosenza, Calabria, in 1961, they discovered that the underground caverns were the third deepest in the world and the deepest in Europe. Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino retraces that mission six decades later with a cast of locals and their livestock in his latest documentary, “Il buco” (“The Hole”). Inspiration for the film came while he was on location shooting his 2007 documentary, “Le quattro volte” (“Four Times”). Officials in the Pollino mountains, which stretch between Calabria and Basilicata, showed him what appeared to be just another sinkhole. Frammartino failed to understand their enthusiasm until they tossed a large stone into the void. It disappeared without making a sound. He was so overcome by the experience and the eerie landscape, he was haunted for years, compelling him to make his current film, one of many rooted in nature. “I was born in Milan, but my family is from Calabria. My pa

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn

A Conversation with Taylor Taglianetti, Founder of NOIAFT

A new platform has recently been launched that promotes the work of Italian Americans in film and television. The brains behind the initiative is a young, passionate woman who is taking the support that she received early on in her journey and paying it forward. With origins in Basilicata and Campania , Taylor Taglianetti is a proud Italian American from Brooklyn, New York. She is currently a senior at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in January 2020. She is majoring in Film and Television and minoring in the Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology. Taglianetti aspires to be a feature film producer and bring great stories to the big screen. In addition to running NOIAFT, she is currently a Development Intern with Silver Pictures, the production company that produced the Lethal Weapon and The Matrix series. Last summer, she was a development intern with Maven Pictures, the Academy-Award winning production company behind Still Alice and The Kids Are All Right .

Marco Giallini's latest film headed to America

He's an intense, articulate actor with dozens of diverse roles to his credit, and his latest film, Perfetti Sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers) is set to make its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Roman-born actor, Marco Giallini shines in the roles he takes on, whether he is the oddball in a comedy, the sexy mystery man in a drama or the bad guy you’d love to hate in a thriller. In each case, Giallini reels us into his character’s fascinating world with his impressive range of performing. Born in Rome in 1963, Giallini grew up with a number of interests including music, motorcycles and soccer. Before he discovered his call to act, he explored his passion for music, starting his own band in the early 80’s called, I Monitors. Then in 1985, destiny knocked at his door, and Giallini enrolled in acting school. He studied theater and for nearly a decade, participated in local productions in Rome’s many venues. It was in 1995 that he made his debut in cinema wit

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog