Skip to main content

Francesco Patierno to Present his Latest Work at the 75th Venice Film Festival


It was recently announced that documentary filmmaker Francesco Patierno will present his latest work "Camorra" in the Sconfini program of the 75th Venice Film Festival, which runs August 29 – September 8. The film has been described as “a striking historical and socio-anthropological portrait of the Campania’s regional capital and of the organized crime that afflicts it.”  Patierno spent months researching the treasures of Rai Teche archives and uncovered a number of period films, many of which were previously unpublished.

Born in Naples in 1964, Patierno studied architecture before discovering his passion for filmmaking. He worked as a creative director for an ad agency producing video clips and commercial spots for RAI. Then in 1996, he tried his hand at filmmaking with a short film called "Quel giorno" (That Day). The compelling 10-minute film premiered at the 53rdVenice Film Festival and was shown at more than 50 film festivals worldwide. Adapted from a story by Renata di Maria, "Quel giorno" simply but powerfully demonstrates sorrow and empathy as strangers react to a man leaning on a building sobbing.

Patierno’s 2003 feature film "Pater Familias," the story of a prisoner who settles his debts on a granted day of leave from jail, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and made its North American premiere later that year at Open Roads: New Italian Cinema. With the success of "Pater Familias," Patierno went on to direct four high profile films with A-list Italian actors, including the acclaimed documentary "Bergman and Magnani: The War of the Volcanoes," the story of the rivalry between Ingrid Bergman and Anna Magnani that took place on the island of Stromboli while they were both shooting separate movies. Magnani was heartbroken, having just been left by Roberto Rossellini as his relationship with Bergman was developing.

Watch "Quel Giorno"...


In 2016, Patierno’s documentary "Naples ‘44" became his most successful international release to date, getting American distribution by First Run Features. Adapted from the book by Norman Lewis, a British intelligence officer sta­tioned in Naples during World War II, and narrated by British film and TV star Benedict Cumberbatch, "Naples ’44" is a hard dose of reality. Intermixing archival footage, old cinema clips, dramatizations and the recollections of an officer who witnessed unfathomable atrocities, Patierno’s film is informative, riveting and at times shocking. I caught up with him while he was in New York presenting “Diva!” at Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, and asked about the inspiration behind making such a powerful film. “The inspiration to make this film came from my father. One day, he told me about how he had escaped a bombing by accident only because he was on the righthand side of the road. All those on the left died because they were shot by a machine gun being fired from an airplane. He said, ‘If you want to know more, read "Naples ’44" because it’s a very interesting book not only about the period during the war but it’s also significant in understanding the Neapolitan people in general.’ I read this book and I fell in love. So from there, the idea came to me right away to make a film.”

A scene from "Naples '44"
We learn in the opening sequences of "Naples ‘44" that Allied troops mounted a surprise landing at Salerno in German-occupied Italy nine months after D-Day. Narrated by Cumberbatch, excerpts from Lewis’ diary follow. Among those shocking revelations is the devastating delayed action devices left by the Germans before their departure from Naples. Several hundred mines were buried under principle buildings. These bombs would randomly explode with no warning in the middle of busy piazzas. Lewis described the bombings as “a senseless massacre perpetrated on the Italian civil population.” 

The Neapolitan people suffered grievously in the coming months, not just as a result of the bombings but also because of diseases like typhus and malaria that spread throughout the population. “The war pushed the Neapolitans back into the middle ages,” Lewis declared.

Watch a clip from our interview...


Lewis spent about a year among the Italians. Over that year, he grew to admire and respect them for all they were forced to endure. The film ends with a statement by Lewis which encompasses his affection and respect for a people he grew to admire and respect.”

Click here to purchase tickets for the screening of "Camorra." Click here to stream "Naples ’44" on Amazon. 

-Written by Jeannine Guilyard for Fra Noi Magazine
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...
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

Model/Actress Anna Falchi

Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomaki, on April 22, 1972, in Tampere, Finland. Her mother, Kaarina Palomaki Sisko, is Finnish, while her father, Benito "Tito" Falchi, is from Romagna, Italy. Growing up in Italy, Anna was a tomboy, and had a fervent imagination. She is known mostly for her prolific career in modelling. However, she tried her hand at acting and landed a role in one of my favorite Italian comedies, Nessun messaggio in segreteria . I consider it my one of my favorites because it brought together so many amazing, talented filmmakers during a time when they were all just starting out. Those filmmakers, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Miniero and Paolo Genovese are now huge names in contemporary Italian cinema, so it's great to look back and see their work in a low-profile film completely different from the bigger-budget stardom they now know.   Watch the trailer . Anna Falchi started her career as a...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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