Skip to main content

The Diversity of Actress Valentina Lodovini

"I think cinema has a huge power, in that it can describe many things and awaken much in us.”  Those words come from Valentina Lodovini, one of the brightest stars in Italian cinema today.

Valentina Lodovini was born in 1977 in Umbertide, a small commune in Umbria. She spent her childhood growing up in San Sepolcro in Arezzo. Since she was a little girl, she always had dreams of acting, but didn’t pursue them until she graduated from college and went on her first audition. Since then, she’s done more than a dozen a films and is earning respect as one of the most sought after leading ladies in Italian cinema.

Lodovini has had a very successful career on the big screen. Her first role was in a film with some of the biggest names in the business. Ovunque sei was directed by Michele Placido in 2004 and stars Stefano Accorsi and Barbora Bobulova.

Despite her success in film, Lodovini continues to go back and forth between television, stage and the big screen. In a 2008 interview with Luxury Magazine, she said that it seems like a switch of language to her; a cinematic language, a theatrical language and a television language.  She appreciates the challenge of diversity in her career.  When she is considering portraying a character, she always starts from the story, and then assesses how different that character is from others she’s taken on in the past. She always tries to choose very different women because it gives her a challenge and let’s her explore the depths of her own skills.  When watching Lodovini at work, it is obvious that she indeed digs very deep within herself to bring out her characters. She becomes her characters and creates their own idiosyncrasies and uniqueness.  She acts out, she moves around, she makes use of the set and props. There’s never a dull moment when Lodovini is onscreen. When asked if there is still a character out there that she’d really like to play, she had this to say; “I would definitely like some edgier, dirtier, more realistic characters.  There’s too often a really frightening superficiality and vulnerability in cinema that ought to be wiped away. To fight that, I always try to convey the shades of grey within a character, the qualities that we can all relate to. For instance, if I have to play a girl next door type, I’d also like to show her imperfections and neuroses, making her more real and authentic.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Director Gianni Di Gregorio explores relationships in later life with 'Never Too Late for Love'

In “Astolfo” (“Never Too Late for Love”), director Gianni Di Gregorio delivers a coming-of-age film for the golden years of life about a retired professor who leaves Rome to return to a tiny mountain village in Abruzzo. The film opens with the title character, played by Di Gregorio, walking through the streets of his Roman neighborhood, groceries in hand, only to find his landlord waiting for him when he arrives home. She is there to announce that he will have to vacate his humble residence to make way for her daughter, who is getting married soon.  After some contemplation, he calls his ex-wife to ask her about an old family castle he split with her in their divorce. When she confirms that a portion of the castle is his for the taking, he gleefully returns to his spacious new home only to discover it has been occupied by a squatter, who turns out to be an acquaintance from his childhood who is also down on his luck. Without hesitation, Astolfo adopts the man as his roommate. ...

La Grande Bellezza of Sabrina Ferilli

The 2015 Rome Premiere of "Io e Lei" Sabrina Ferilli has been gracing Italian screens, big and small, since the mid-80s. With her recent role in Paolo Sorrentino's international blockbuster, "La Grande Bellezza" (The Great Beauty), audiences throughout the world are getting the chance to see why she is one of Italy's most beloved treasures. Born in Rome in 1964, Sabrina Ferilli is the daughter of Giuliano Ferilli, the former leader of the Communist Party of the Lazio Region. Ferilli attempted to study her craft at Rome's Experimental Center of Cinematography, but later decided to abandon her studies and dive right into her career. Time has proven that she made the right choice. With dozens of movies to her credit, Ferilli has appeared on television and on the big screen, becoming a household name in Italy. Ferilli is the very portrait of Italian beauty with her infamous figure, long brown locks and dark eyes. But as cliched as it may sound, s...

Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni.. What cinema dreams are made of

The Toronto International Film Festival is wrapping up its retrospective of the cinematic collaboration of husband and wife team, Nicoletta Braschi and Roberto Benigni. Over the last few days, the couple have participated in discussions, Q & A sessions and have introduced several of their films. Today, I attended a screening of "La voce della luna" (The voice of the moon). It was  Federico Fellini's last film and is a wonderful tribute to the director's signature poetic madness. The film gave Benigni the opportunity to team up with fellow beloved comic, Paolo Villaggio, and the two created a truly unforgettable adventure. Today's screening began with an introduction by Benigni. The moments leading up to his introduction were noticeably serious and somewhat tense. Benigni's publicist and TIFF security staunchly guarded his privacy. There was no interaction and no photos were allowed. Guided by ...

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...