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"Non gioco più" shot in Basilicata premieres at the Giffoni Film Festival


The 47th edition of the Giffoni Film Festival is coming to a close. Over the last week, the signature Blue Carpet has been graced with filmmakers who have come from all over the world to celebrate cinema dedicated to children and teens.

The first edition of the Giffoni Film Festival took place in 1971 in its namesake city of Giffoni Valle Piana, which is located in the region of Campania. The festival has served not only as an event to watch films, but also as a place for youngsters to learn about the filmmaking process. The French master François Truffaut is quoted saying “Of all the film festivals, Giffoni is the most necessary.” Perhaps that has something to do with its renowned Masterclasses. This year's festival goers were treated to lessons and discussions by some of the biggest names in Italian cinema including Marco Giallini, Gabriele Salvatores and Gabriele Muccino. The festival has hosted numerous extinguished guest over the years including Robert De Niro, Sergio Leone, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Alberto Sordi. 

After years of reading about this festival, I was finally able to experience it firsthand. I made the trip to attend a special screening of a short film shot entirely in Basilicata with regional actors. Non gioco piu’ is set in 1994 Maratea during a championship soccer game between Italy and Brazil. It’s a coming-of-age story marked by adolescent love between teenagers Alice and Martino. Directed by Sicilian-born filmmaker Sebastiano Luca Insinga, the film is a poetic homage to the innocence and curiosity of adolescence set against the natural force of the majestic sea. Both worlds blend in this mystic summer tale.


 Sebastiano Luca Insinga was born in Catania in 1984. He studied literature in the northern city of Trentino, where he began experimenting with photography and video. Then in 2008, he shot his first short on Super8 video. Four years later, his documentary Nulla è Accaduto was selected for the Berlin Film Festival's "Talent Campus." A year later, he co-directed Italian actress Cristiana Capotondi in the short film Hands. 
I caught up with Insinga just before he presented the film at the Giffoni Film Festival. We talked about his inspiration to tell this story and the experience of shooting in the paradise setting of Maratea along the Tyrrhenian Sea. Our interview was done in Italian, so both versions are included.
The director and cast of Non gioco piu' at the Giffoni Film Festival
Tell me about the story and why you wanted to tell it in light of this championship game between Italy and Brasil.
The film takes place during a single afternoon on a special day, July 17, 1994, the day of the World Cup finals between Italy and Brazil. It remains an unforgettable day for us Italians because of all those who could make a mistake in the penalty shot, it was Roberto Baggio, our greatest talent, to kick high above the crossbar. Often in life, it's the difficult times that make us grow. Martino, the protagonist of Non gioco più, wants to grow up and shortly after the game ends, he will move away from his hometown with his family and he will be far away from Alice, a special girl that he does not want to leave. I thought the story of the penalty kick was similar to Martino's because they both lost a great opportunity forever. 

 Dimmi della storia e perché volevi raccontare questa storia nello sfondo della finale dei mondiali di calcio tra Italia e Brasile?
Il film è ambientato in un unico pomeriggio di un giorno speciale, il 17 luglio 1994, il giorno della finale di coppa del mondo tra Italia e Brasile. Un data rimasta indimenticabile per noi italiani, perché tra tutti coloro che potevano sbagliare ai calci di rigore, fu proprio Roberto Baggio, il nostro più grande talento, a calciare alto sopra la traversa.
Spesso sono i momenti difficili che fanno veramente crescere. Martino, il protagonist di Non gioco più, ha voglia di diventare grande, poche ore dopo la partita lascerà il suo paese e andrà lontano. Lontano anche da Alice, da cui non vorrebbe separarsi. Ho pensato di legare la storia di quel calcio di rigore al momento in cui Martino, come Roberto Baggio, realizza che ha  perso per sempre una grande occasione. 

Pasquale De Giacomo in the role of Martino
The film has a beautiful, poetic ambience. Tell me about the style in which you shot in order to achieve this atmospheric beauty.
Although the film is set at a very precise moment, we tried to create a stage that has little adherence to the reality of those years. The scenic work of Nicola Ciuffo was very precise and careful in making sure that all objects, furnishings, and scooters really belonged to those years. The same research was done in relation to costumes and hairstyles. Despite this, the film does not look like a costumed movie and the historical setting does not weigh on the film. I tried to make a clean sweep of nostalgia and especially of any imitations. Then with Leone Orfeo, the director of photography, we created a triple narrative and aesthetic, one that is absolutely dreamlike in each frame of the film. This is where Martino and Alice are close to their similar intentions and these moments have been constructed with the utmost purity and candor, such as the love that is born at 13-years-old. Then comes something that breaks the balance between them and from that moment on, everything becomes less stable and calculable. This was a bit of a risk and I realized it. When you condense such aesthetic jumps that may be unjustified or less obvious, you take the risk of confusing the spectator. In the end, however, I am convinced that we did well to experiment, because we were free within the rules we made.

Le foto che ho visto del film sono belle e poetiche.. raccontami lo stile in cui avete girato per ottenere questo atmosfera di fantasia.
Nonostante il film sia ambientato in un momento molto preciso, abbiamo cercato di creare una messa in scena che avesse poca aderenza con la realtà di quegli anni. Il lavoro scenografico di Nicola Ciuffo è stato molto preciso e attento nel fare in modo che tutti gli oggetti, gli arredi, i motorini fossero veramente di quegli anni. La stessa ricerca è stata fatta in relazione ai costumi e alle acconciature. Nonostante questo, il film non appare come un film in costume e l’ambientazione storica non pesa sul film, non risulta così evidente. Ho cercato di fare in modo che quella suggestione arrivasse, ma che fosse soltanto tale. Ho cercato di fare piazza pulita nella nostalgia e soprattutto dello scimmiottamento.

Poi con Leone Orfeo, il direttore della fotografia, abbiamo creato un triplo registro narrativo ed estetico. Un primo assolutamente onirico che è la cornice del film. Da questo si passa ai momenti in cui Martino e Alice sono vicini ai loro intenti comuni e questi momenti sono stati costruiti con più pulizia e candore possibili, come l’amore che nasce a 13 anni. Poi arriva qualcosa che spezza l’equilibrio tra loro due e da quel momento si passa ad un terzo registro dove tutto diventa meno stabile e calcolabile. Questo è stato un pò un rischio - me ne rendo conto! -  perché condensare in pochi minuti salti estetici di questo tipo può risultare poco giustificato o non comprensibile o fare perdere le coordinate allo spettatore. Alla fine però sono convinto che abbiamo fatto bene a sperimentare, perché siamo stati liberi dentro le regole che ci siamo dati.

 AliceVerrastro in the role of Alice
What were your reasons for choosing Maratea as the location for the film?
Many years before shooting Non gioco più, I ended up in Maratea on vacation almost by accident. It was easy to fall in love with that place because somehow it brought me back to the contrast of the land where I was born, a gorgeous sea with rock peaking over it. During that holiday, I found a deserted hotel in total decay, the Marisdea - a beautiful name. When I wrote this story, I thought of the group of kids also finding themselves in an abandoned place away from everything. So it was natural to set the film in Maratea. I needed the sea but a sea away from the typical reverberation. In fact, we turned to a beach where the sand is black, always in the idea of creating a world out of the world. Thanks to these elements, we created a suspended universe and in the film, these guys are totally abandoned in a space without references.
   
Perché hai scelto Maratea come il set cinematografico?
Molti anni prima di girare Non gioco più, ero finito a Maratea quasi per caso, in vacanza. Ed è stato facile innamorarsi di quel posto, perché in qualche modo mi ha riportato al contrasto della terra dove sono nato, un mare splendido fatto di roccia a picco sul mare. Durante quella vacanza sono entrato in un albergo abbandonato in totale decadenza, il Marisdea – nome bellissimo. Quando ho scritto questa storia ho pensato che il gruppo di ragazzi si ritrovasse in un luogo abbandonato, lontano da tutto e soprattutto dai “grandi”. Quindi è stato naturale ambientare a Maratea il film. Avevo bisogno del mare, ma di un mare lontano dalla tipica rapprensentazione, infatti abbiamo girato in una spiaggia dove la sabbia è nera, sempre nell’idea di creare un mondo fuori dal mondo. Grazie a questi elementi abbiamo creato un universo sospeso e nel film non appare nessuno e niente fuori dal mondo di questi ragazzi che sono come abbandonati in uno spazio senza riferimenti 
Spiaggia Nera (Black Beach) of Maratea
Tell me about your experience shooting along the beautiful sea.
Shooting in beautiful places is easier because even when the fatigue arrives and the forces begin to fail, you can lose yourself in the beauty around you recharge your energy.

Raccontami la tua esperienza com'é stato lavorare in un posto cosi bello.
Girare in posti belli è più facile, perché anche quando la fatica affiora e le forze iniziano a mancare puoi sperdere lo sgaurdo nella bellezza tutt’intorno e ritrovare la carica.

Director Sebastiano Luca Insinga and his crew in Maratea
Without giving too much away, the film ends with a special appearance by the journalist and former professional soccer player Bruno Pizzul. He was the commentator for that infamous match in 1994. The director's choice to have Pizzul in this role adds a unique touch to the film and makes the experience of watching it that much richer. 

 Non gioco più will be shown next in the "Spazio Italia" section of the Lucania Film Festival in Pisticci, Basilicata, which will take place August 9-13. Click here for more information.

Insinga's short film Hands starring Cristiana Capotondi is available on Vimeo. Click here to watch the film.
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