Interview: Anna Ferruzzo on her role in "Pecore in erba"

"Pecore in erba" is our must-see pick for the 72nd Venice Film Festival. We talked with our friend, actress, Anna Ferruzzo about the film, her role and the beautiful, historic Roman neighborhood of Trastevere.

I read that "Pecore in erba" is a "mock-u-mentary", meaning that it was made in a documentary-style, but the story is not true. Can you tell me more about the genre of the film?
"Pecore in erba” is a comedy set and played in the Roman neighborhood of Trastevere. It talks about Leonardo Zulliani's life. He‘s a young activist, a genius of communication. His sudden disappearance became a true national case. But who is Leonardo Zulliani and why did he disappear? This is the very heartbeat of the film, but I can’t tell you more. You have to discover it on the screen. I can say only that this story is an excuse to talk about anti-Semitism in a clever way.

Since it's an ironic documentary, is the story based on a real person or an actual event that happened?

Leonardo Zulliani is a fictional character and the story of his life is obviously invented but "Pecore in erba" looks like a real documentary because many famous journalists and communications experts participate in our film. There are testimonies of very famous Italian characters, like Enrico Mentana, Fabio Fazio, Vittorio Sgarbi and Corrado Augias. They mingle with the actors playing the relatives and friends of Leonardo. In this way, Leonardo’s story seems like a real news story.

Tell me about your character and how you developed her.
In "Pecore in erba", I play Teresa Zulliani, Leonardo's mother, a desperate woman due to the sudden disappearance of her son. During a long interview, I talk about this special boy, about his restlessness, his youth, of his loves and his unexpected successes. Alberto Caviglia, the movie's director, asked me to give the most possible credible performance and I hope I did.

What are traits of the people of Trastevere that you and the other actors wanted to embrace and communicate to the audience?
Many small roles in the film are played by real people of Trastevere. They are not really actors but all are very authentic, genuine and spontaneous. So the real difficulty for us professional actors was to be as real and natural as them.

Trastevere is a popular Roman neighborhood. From the perspective of someone that lives in Rome, what makes Trastevere so unique?
I've lived in Rome for many years and I love this city so much. I always found this place comfortable and "warm" ... just the beauty of Rome. A walk along the Imperial Forums or up to the Janiculum makes you happy and makes you feel good. But the district of Trastevere has something more: it has preserved its popular and genuine character and for that reason this neighborhood was the ideal place to make our film.

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 ...

Ornella Muti: Four decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with La Moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, Sole nella pelle (Sun on the Skin) in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies with the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with Flash Gordon . She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including, Oscar , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...

Cineuropa's Interview with Michele Placido

It was announced this week that Michele Placido's new film, "7 minuti" will be shown at this year's Rome Film Festival. 11 amazing actresses women star in "7 minuti" by Michele Placido , a drama co-produced by Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland and being distributed by German company Koch Media. The cast features Cristiana Capotondi , Ambra Angiolini , Fiorella Mannoia , Maria Nazionale , Ottavia Piccolo , Violante Placido , Sabine Timoteo , Anne Consigny , Mimma Lovoi and Clémence Poésy . The film is based on the play of the same name by Stefano Massini, who wrote the screenplay with Placido, and is the story of 11 women, a mixture of manual labourers and office workers, who are called to the negotiation table when the owners of the textiles company they work for sell the majority of their shares to a multinational. In a short space of time they must decide, for themselves and on the behalf of their fellow colleagues, whether to accept the...

Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...

A Conversation with Actor- Luca Calvani from Warner Bros. Upcoming Release "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The cast and filmmakers of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Rome A few years ago, I interviewed actor, Luca Calvani on the occasion of his U.S. release, When in Rome . Today, we are revisiting our conversation as he is promoting his much anticipated spy thriller, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the all-star cast includes Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, and Hugh Grant. Based on the television series by Sam Rolfe, the story is set in the 1960's and follows CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin as they participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons. The U.S. release date is set for August 14, but the cast recently did some press for the film in the Eternal City, where much of it was shot. Luca Calvani Born in Tuscany, Calvani has traveled the world following his career. He began working as a model in the 1990's...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog