Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Actor Ivan Boragine on Gomorra, Growing up in Napoli and his Love for Theater

Neapolitan actor Ivan Boragine embraces everything that is Napoli. From his pride and passion to his nostalgia and sadness, Napoli is always in his heart. That is why his role in the popular Italian television series Gomorra has been the role of a lifetime. Not only has the worldwide   broadcast (64 countries) skyrocketed him to fame, it has given him a way to bring to light the problems and corruption of one generation so that the next could have a better chance. I met with Boragine recently while I was in Rome. I found him to be down-to-earth and honest about the pride and love he has for his culture and also for his art. We spoke a lot about his hometown of Napoli and the impact the Neapolitan theater has had on actors. We also talked about his role in Gomorra and how it fuels his love for acting.   Boragine got his start in acting a little over a decade ago when he landed a role in a local theater production of the Neapolitan classic, Miseria e Nobilità (Misery...

Italian Biblical Movies to Watch During Lent

Join me in beginning the Lenten season with my favorite adaptation of one of the Gospels-  Pier Paolo Pasolini's  1964 “Il Vangolo Secondo Matteo" (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) and a few classics that I recently discovered.  Considered by the Vatican to be among the best film adaptations of the Gospels, Pasolini's film was shot in the regions of Basilicata and Calabria. He cast his mother as Mary and many locals as extras. Spanish actor Enrique Irazoqui was cast in the role of Jesus. He was just 18-years-old when he landed the part. He had been in Rome at the time of casting and auditioned for the role. I contacted Irazoqui around this time last year to ask him about his experience making the film. He suggested that we have a conversation via Skype. Although the connection wasn’t very good, it was thrilling to talk directly with this actor whose film I had been watching for at least 20 years. He was very friendly and nostalgic in his recollections espe...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the age of 14, Stefania Sandrelli has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14, playing the angelic cousin of a love-stricken 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. 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 legendary com...

Explore the Immense Historical Archives of Istituto Luce Cinecittà

The historical archives of Istituto Luce Cinecittà offers an extensive online collection of more than 70,000 archival videos dating back to the early 20th century and more than 430,000 photographs. The organization provides free access to the vast digital records of Italy's history and culture, which includes thousands of hours of footage.  Topics include cinema, arts, history, politics, sports and current affairs. Three hundred silent films spanning the years of 1927 – 1932 have just been added, some never seen before, with a section dedicated to world travel, entitled “Cinemobile.”  Go to  https://cinecitta.com  and click on “Esplora” on the menu bar and then choose “Archivio Cinematografico”  for film or "Archivio Fotografico" for still photos... and then explore! Click here to view one of my favorite film menus on the site... a treasure trove of documentaries made between the 1930s and 1960s. Click here to see gorgeous, rare photos of silent film...

Interview: Cristina Scabbia of Italian Heavy Metal Band- Lacuna Coil

Photo by Jeremy Saffer ( http://store.jeremysaffer.com/collections/tenthirtyoneinc ) Lacuna Coil is a heavy metal band whose unique sound and creative music videos have catapulted them to international stardom. The band consists of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro on vocals, Marco Coti Zelati on bass, Cristiano Migliore and Marco 'Maus' Biazzi on guitars and Cristiano 'CriZ' Mozzati on drums.      All members hail from Milan and bring to the table their own signature talent. A few years ago, the internet buzz about Lacuna Coil's music videos prompted me to check them out on YouTube. I've been hooked ever since. Their videos are creative vignettes shot all over the world, directed by cutting edge filmmakers in Europe and the United States.   Although Lacuna coil is considered a heavy metal band, the unique melodies in their songs are rarely found in traditional heavy metal.   The range of the band is also something you rarely see in this genre of mus...