Gabriele Salvatores launches "Italy in a Day"

Oscar-winning filmmaker, Gabriele Salvatores is set to begin production on his next film, "Life In a Day." The project is a take-off on Ridley Scott's 2010 "Britain in a Day." It will be the first collective film to be made by Italians.

The designated day is October 26, 2013, which the director calls, "a normal autumn Saturday.” Participants are invited to document their own day on video, showing an ordinary day in their lives. “We always say that cinema should tell the story of our own lives. For once, we are asking people to stop being directed and to tell who they are themselves,” explained Salvatores. “It is an interesting challenge and a great responsibility,” Salvatores went on, “because here, the author is putting himself at the service of citizens’ emotions and thoughts. It's a project that is beyond cinema and documentary.”

The film, produced by Indiana Production and Rai Cinema, will be released in theaters and shown on the Rai network. The call for videos is underway with high profile sponsors, including Christian De Sica, Luciana Littizzetto and Micaela Ramazzotti.

For more information, visit the project's website at www.italyinaday.rai.it.

With Gabriele Salvatores in NYC, 2010

Gabriele Salvatores

Considered a maestro by peers and audience members alike, director Gabriele Salvatores continues to raise the bar for filmmakers around the world.

Born in Naples in 1950, Gabriele Salvatores spent nearly two decades working in theater, and continues to influence new generations.

Perhaps Salvatores’ greatest theatrical legacy is Milan’s Teatro dell’Elfo, which he founded in 1973. To this day, the Milanese theater serves as a popular venue for cultural events and avant-garde productions in the northern city.

Salvatores made his feature-film debut in 1989 with "Marrakech Express," which featured two of Italy’s most esteemed actors- Diego Abatantuono and Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Two years later, he made "Mediterraneo," the clever comedy that put him on the map and earned him an Academy Award.

"Nirvana," Salvatores’ 1997 sci-fi thriller about a video game character who develops thoughts and feelings, took his career in another direction. The film goes back and forth between reality and the virtual world. Solo, the video game character, pleads with his creator, Jimi, to destroy all copies of the game before its release to save him from reliving the same virtual pain over and over again. Against the wishes of his bosses, Jimi embarks on a journey to find the people he needs to get the job done. "Nirvana" is an innovative film that shows the connection between an artist and his subject. The film's style was an aberration for Salvatores whose films often mirror real-life social issues, sometimes taking a comedy turn, and other times, delving into the surreal.

Watch the Barilla spots directed by Gabriele Salvatores, starring Pierfrancesco Favino

He began his film career solely as a director but over time has also taken on the role of screenwriter. As a writer, Salvatores is deft in his ability to balance all the facets of his characters’ personalities. Most of his characters have keen senses of humor, even when they are less than admirable. They are complex and usually a little cynical about life, no matter what their age. Although his characters share many personality traits, the circumstances that surround them are dramatically different in each of his films.

A scene from "Io non ho paura"

Salvatores delivered a highly suspenseful and entertaining film with his 2003 release, "Io non ho paura." Based on kidnappings that took place in the 1980s, the story focuses on a group of poverty-stricken southerners who take the child of a wealthy family from the North hostage and hold him for ransom. The film radiates with the sweltering heat of the South, thanks to Salvatores’ directing and Italo Petriccione’s cinematography. The film was shot in Basilicata and used several regional actors.

With each new film, Salvatores reveals a greater depth of creativity. He is known for working with many of the same actors. In doing so, he adds a certain signature to his films while creating brand new works of art. And like an artist, he starts with a canvas of characters, gives them some drama, adds color where needed and laughter when necessary. In the end, we are presented with a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

Purchase "Mediterraneo" on Amazon Prime...

Comments

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

'Salvatore Giuliano' blends documentary realism with dramatic storytelling

"Salvatore Giuliano" is a 1962 Italian crime drama directed by Francesco Rosi that dramatizes the real-life events surrounding the life and death of the legendary Sicilian bandit and folk hero. Giuliano rose to notoriety after the liberation of Sicily from fascist control in 1943, when he formed a gang that joined a separatist army. When the army dissolved, he and his gang intensified their outlaw activities. One of their most significant crimes was the Portella della Ginestra incident, during which dozens of men, women, and children were killed or wounded. This act prompted the authorities to launch an all-out war against Giuliano. His defenses slowly crumbled, and on July 5, 1959, his body was discovered in the courtyard of a house in Castelvetrano. That moment serves as the starting point for Rosi's film. Giuliano's fame is tied to his involvement in the Sicilian independence movement and his battles against both the Italian government and the Mafia in the 1940s a...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds) takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016). The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...

"Roma 11:00" – The Tragic True Story of Desperation in a World of Poverty

There couldn’t have been a more perfect couple than Lucia Bosè and Raf Vallone in Giuseppe De Santis’ 1952 “Roma 11:00.” A tragic story based on true events, the film follows several young women in post-WWII Rome as they answer a job listing for a typist. When 200 women are in line on one staircase over several floors, a crack leads to the collapse of the entire staircase. Dozens were injured and one was killed. The tragedy spoke to the poverty and desperation that existed for so many Italians in the early 1950s before the ‘58 industrial boom began. Cesare Zavattini was one of the screenwriters. Elio Petri was the assistant director who interviewed many of the victims and cast a few in supporting roles. In addition to Bosè and Vallone, the film stars Carla Del Poggio, Massimo Girotti, Maria Grazia Francia, Lea Padovani and Delia Scala. The film is set in Largo Circense 37, while in reality the collapse took place in via Savoia 31, in the Salario district, on J...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog