Skip to main content

Interview: Sebastiano Filocamo of Marco Bellocchio's "Blood of My Blood"

The Film Society of Lincoln Center's "Film Comment Selects Series" kicked off tonight and will run through February 24. The series will close with Marco Bellocchio's 2014 mystery, "Blood of My Blood" (Sangue del mio sangue).  

It's been described as dark, troubling and enigmatic- one of the strangest and most haunting films in Marco Bellocchio's long and illustrious career. Set between two very different time periods, there are echoes of a vampire film with interlocking narratives. The film opens with a bearded man arriving at a monastery to find a nun hanging from the ceiling from her feet. Federico Mai (Filippo Timi) has come to save his deceased brother's soul after he committed suicide and therefore cannot be buried in consecrated ground unless his lover, Sister Benedetta (Alba Rohrwacher), confesses to their sin. Benedetta faces trials by water and fire- and questioning by the apostolic hierarchy. We are then projected into the present day in which a Russian looks to buy the monastery where Benedetta's torture occurred. A strange assortment of people are found living in the monastery. Among them, a Count and a woman whose husband has disappeared. But this is just the beginning of the mystery.

I spoke with actor Sebastiano Filocamo last September as "Blood of My Blood" was about to premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival. I asked him about the film, his character and what it was like to work with a true maestro like Bellocchio.  

Tell me about this story and what makes this so-called haunted monastery unique?
It is set and filmed in Bobbio, a place dear to Bellocchio. My scenes were all filmed in a real convent that had been closed for decades and reopened just to make the film. "Blood of My Blood" was first a short film starring myself along with the director's brother, Alberto and inspired by some reflections of Bellocchio’s favorite themes. One of those themes, perhaps the most delicate and profound, involves a tragedy that has significantly affected the life of one of the characters, the twin brother of a character that committed suicide. It is a film where the past and present are united and where everything is not always explained or even capable of being explained.  

Filocamo and Bellocchio on set
What was it like to work with Marco Bellocchio?
For an actor like me, working with Bellocchio is like trying to build something outside of myself. Remaining credible and revealing, then interpreting the character in ways beyond thoughts and words is one of the most important things that an actor could do. I have never felt so cared for by a director. I have a lot of respect for him, so much that I didn’t want to address him in the informal Italian tense, even though he said that it was ok to do so. There were light moments off the set during lunch and dinner breaks that gave me the opportunity to spend time with him and his entire family, so I was able to get to know them. He gave me a poster of the film and I wanted to ask him to autograph it, but I didn’t want to bother him. Then a friend asked him for me, and he wrote very nice things. Just thinking about it makes me smile because it was a special and unique experience, also because some of the crew members will go on to be directors and producers like Simone Gattoni, one of the producers on this film and Bellocchio's next as well. 

Music plays a huge role in Bellocchio's films. Do you feel this the case also with "Blood of My Blood"?  
Music is a very important element for Bellocchio. I know that he’s worked hard on this film with the composer, Maestro Carlo Crivelli. It’s a very demanding plot that ranges from the 7th century to the present day, so the music follows the different eras. 

 
The film is set to be shown at numerous international film festivals. Do you feel the story translates well to audiences outside of Italy?
The elements of this film- the intensity on the faces of the actors, the photography of Daniele Ciprì, the costumes of Daria Calvelli, the music, the town of Bobbio and the film’s locations- in particular the convent with the walls that tell you about the silences and the cries of years so far away from us- the poetic and the unique way in which Bellocchio tells of this pain cannot be translated literally. Instead, all of these elements will be understood by the innate senses of the viewer in the profound form of art that has no barriers. 

For scheduling and ticket information, visit the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
 
Related Articles
Interview with Marco Bellocchio
Marco Bellocchio: A Retrospective
Locarno Film Festival Honors Marco Bellocchio
Interview: Sebastiano Filocamo on role in "Anime nere"
 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ornella Muti: Five 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 its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time.  Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures 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,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Extraordinary Career and Legacy of Dino De Laurentiis

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, having produced or co-produced more than 600 films during a career that spanned seven decades. His legacy continues not only through the work of his children and grandchildren but also through a new generation of filmmakers in his Italian hometown. De Laurentiis was born in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius on Aug. 8, 1919, in the city of Torre Annunziata, located just minutes from the ruins of Pompeii. As a child, he worked at a local pasta factory owned and operated by his father. That experience had a profound effect on him, shaping a lifelong passion for food and an appreciation for business. At the age of 17, he decided to leave home for the big city. He arrived in Rome and enrolled in the prestigious film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After attending the school for about a year, he managed to produce one film in 1940, The Last Combat , before having to leave Rome temporarily for m...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 doz...
Post a Comment
Read more