Interview: Director Francesco Colangelo on his Cannes short film "Giochi di ruolo"

Fresh off the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, director Francesco Colangelo answers a few questions about his film Giochi di ruolo, which was featured in the festival's Short Film Corner. Starring Valeria Solarino and Andrea Napoleoni, the story is reflective of the changing gender roles in society these days and how the new economic trends are influencing women to adopt some less than flattering male qualities.

Born in the beautiful southern Italian region of Puglia, Colangelo has worked on both sides of the camera in a variety of roles from writer to director to actor with a few in between. He's enthusiastic about his latest work and his new collaboration with actress Valeria Solarino.

Our conversation was originally in Italian, so both versions are included.

What can you tell me about this story?

It’s the story of a private confession told by a woman to a new aquaintence she meets in the park who turns out to be a gigolo. So this woman becomes the client and the man is the prostitute. It’s symbolic of a new tendency of the current female presence in the world.

Puoi dirmi qualcosa della storia?

La storia è una confessione privata, femminile ad un interlocutore non convenzionale in un parco. E' una confessione di una donna ad un uomo che si rivelerà essere un gigolò. Quindi lei è una donna cliente di un prostituto maschio in un parco. E' una storia che racconta una nuova declinazione della visione femminile del mondo... per come è attualmente.

How did you come up with this story for a film?

The story came from analyzing the present, seeing that women have vested a certain role in society, which includes economic power and through this power, they’ve acquired the worst characteristic of the male society, which is the power to control people through wealth. I liked telling this story seen from this female side where the exploited is a man and the exploiter is a woman. It’s simply to state the fact that society is such that those who hold the economic power also hold the power of being able to hurt others.

Come era nata questa storia?

La storia è nata analizzando il presente, vedendo che le donne hanno acquisito un ruolo nuovo nella società: il potere economico, e attraverso il potere economico hanno anche acquisito i caratteri peggiori della società maschilista, e cioè di poter controllare le persone attraverso tale potere. Mi piaceva raccontare questa storia vista dalla parte dello specchio, dove lo sfruttato è un uomo e le sfruttatrici fossero delle donne, semplicemente per raccontare il fatto che in una società così caratterizzata, chi detiene il potere economico detiene anche il "potere" di fare del male all'altro.

Tell me about choosing your actress for the lead role.

The short film came from a series of stories written for television. Giochi di ruolo was an episode interpreted by four important actresses- Carolina Crescentini, Antonia Liskova, Giulia Michelini e Valeria Solarino. I chose Valeria Solarino because it was what made sense somehow. I must say that all four actresses were great in the series. They all put much of their love into making it happen. Valeria Solarino in particular was really a treasure. It was a new discovery for me because I hadn’t worked with her before. When the short was done, we did another project together because I had discovered her value both as a woman and as an actress, so I wanted to work with her again.

Puoi dirmi qualcosa dell'attrice che ha fatto la protagonista?
Il corto deriva da una serie di storie organizzate come una serie TV dal titolo "In The Park", interpretate da quattro importanti attrici italiane, di cui questo corto "Giochi di ruolo" è un episodio. Le interpreti sono Carolina Crescentini, Antonia Liskova, Giulia Michelini e Valeria Solarino. Ho deciso di prendere di estrapolare da questa serie l’episodio con Valeria Solarino perché era quello che aveva un senso in qualche modo più compiuto.

Devo dire che tutte e quattro le attrici sono state bravissime, sono state al servizio del progetto ed hanno messo il proprio amore, molto amore, nel realizzarlo. Valeria Solarino nello specifico è stata veramente un tesoro, una scoperta. Non avevo lavorato con lei prima di questo lavoro, e dopo questo lavoro ne ho fatto anche un altro con lei, perché è stata una scoperta sia come donna che come attrice.

We'll keep you posted on when this film will be available to the public. In the meantime, click here to check out Francesco Colangelo's other works on YouTube.

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