Skip to main content

Actress Paola Lavini on her Role in Giorgio Diritti's 'Volevo nascondermi'

Italians made their way back to the cinemas over the weekend and one of the most popular films to see was Giorgio Diritti's "Volevo nascondermi" (Hidden Away), the story of tortured artist Antonio Ligabue.

The son of an emigrant Italian mother, Ligabue was deported to Italy from Switzerland where he spent his childhood. He lived a life of solitude in a shack by the river for years. Meeting the sculptor Renato Marino Mazzacurati provided an opportunity to express himself through painting, the beginning of a redemption story in which he feels art is the only way to form his identity. “El Tudesc,” as people called him, was a lonely, introverted and often mocked and humiliated man. He became an imaginative artist who painted a fantasy world of tigers, gorillas and jaguars on the banks of the Po River. Ligabue’s art is a “fairy tale” from which a wealth of diversity emerges and his work over time has proved to be a gift to collective humanity.

"Volevo nascondermi" premiered in February at the Berlin Film Festival just before the world paused for the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, the film has received a whole slew of nominations and awards.

Actress Paola Lavini plays Ligabue's love interest, Pina. Lavini is no stranger to Italian Cinema Today. We've met up with her numerous times in Rome at film festivals and cafés just to catch up over cappuccino. I asked her about her experience working on this film.

The Italian version follows..

 Tell me about this character Pina and her place in this story.
Pina is a beautiful woman who approaches Antonio Ligabue out of opportunism, but with sincerity and tenderness. She meets him when he is already famous.

What did you do in terms of research to prepare for the role?
I called to mind many things about my grandmother from my Emilian origins. I looked at many paintings by Ligabue and watched many of his films to understand his world.

Tell me about your collaboration with Elio Germano.. 
It was fantastic. He is an extraordinary actor and a genuine person. It is exciting to work with good actors. They inspire you to give your best.

..And with Giorgio Diritti. What was your experience shooting with him?
I have been following Giorgio Diritti for years. I love his filmography. I love his style of directing and the way in which he makes decisions. I love his poetics. He is attentive to everything and everyone.

Paola Lavini in a scene from "Volevo nascondermi"
During the film, did you develop an appreciation for the art and struggles of Antonio Ligabue?
Absolutely. I also started painting again. I picked up the canvas and gave free rein to my imagination. I didn't know him very much and instead I looked at all his paintings with a keen eye, trying to emulate the desire for redemption he had through his art.

What do you feel is the importance of this film to the legacy of Ligabue?
Through this film, we discover Antonio’s real life, even before Ligabue–the little Antonio and then of the adult Antonio with his difficulties in showing affection. His life began in a ‘wrong’ way, perhaps, but he could right those wrongs through his painting. I believe that Antonio Ligabue is still little known as a painter and this film could be a way to make him known more, as he deserves, in Italy and in the world.

We'll keep you updated on when the film will be released in the United States. In the meantime, watch Lavini in the AMBI Pictures 2016 film "All Roads Lead to Rome," a romantic comedy set in Italy that stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Raoul Bova and Claudia Cardinale and in the 2005 HBO series, "Rome" in which she plays the ill-mannered trophy wife, Phyllis. Click here to watch the series on HBO Max.



Intervista in Italiano

Raccontami questo personaggio Pina.
Pina è una bella donna che si avvicina ad Antonio Ligabue per..opportunismo, anche se con molta tenerezza. Lo conosce quando lui è già ricco e famoso .

Cosa hai fatto in termini di ricerca per prepararti al ruolo?
Ho attinto molte cose da mia nonna, dalle mie origini emiliane e mi sono guardate molti quadri di Ligabue e tanti suoi filmati per capire il suo mondo

Lavini and Elio Germano in a scene from "Volevo nascondermi"
Parlami della tua collaborazione con Elio Germano 
Fantastico. Attore straordinario. Persona vera. E' stimolante lavorare con attori bravi. Dai il meglio

E con Giorgio Diritti... 
Inseguo Giorgio Diritti da anni. Amo la sua filmografia. Amo come dirige e le facce che sceglie. Amo la sua poetica. E' attento a tutto e a tutti.

Durante il film, hai sviluppato un apprezzamento per l'arte e le lotte di Antonio Ligabue?
Siiiii. Mi sono rimessa anche a dipingere. Ho ripreso in mano la tela ed ho dato libero sfogo alla mia immaginazione. Lo conoscevo poco ed invece ho riguardato con occhio attento tutti i suoi quadri, cercando di carpire il desiderio di riscatto che aveva attraverso la sua arte.

Qual è l'importanza di questo film per l'eredità di Ligabue? 
Attraverso questo film, scopriamo la vita vera di Antonio, prima ancora di Ligabue. Del piccolo Antonio e poi dell'Antonio adulto. Delle sue difficoltà negli affetti, della sua vita cominciata in modo 'storto', forse 'sbagliato,  e che lui ha saputo invece rendere 'vincente' attraverso la sua pittura. Credo che Antonio Ligabue sia ancora poco conosciuto come pittore e questo film potrebbe essere un modo per farlo conoscere di più, come merita, in Italia e nel mondo.

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

Ornella Muti: Four 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 the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time.  Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing 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 , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cineuropa's Interview with Michele Placido

It was announced this week that Michele Placido's new film, "7 minuti" will be shown at this year's Rome Film Festival. 11 amazing actresses women star in "7 minuti" by Michele Placido , a drama co-produced by Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland and being distributed by German company Koch Media. The cast features Cristiana Capotondi , Ambra Angiolini , Fiorella Mannoia , Maria Nazionale , Ottavia Piccolo , Violante Placido , Sabine Timoteo , Anne Consigny , Mimma Lovoi and Clémence Poésy . The film is based on the play of the same name by Stefano Massini, who wrote the screenplay with Placido, and is the story of 11 women, a mixture of manual labourers and office workers, who are called to the negotiation table when the owners of the textiles company they work for sell the majority of their shares to a multinational. In a short space of time they must decide, for themselves and on the behalf of their fellow colleagues, whether to accept the...
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

A Conversation with Actor- Luca Calvani from Warner Bros. Upcoming Release "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The cast and filmmakers of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  in Rome  A few years ago, I interviewed actor, Luca Calvani on the occasion of his U.S. release, When in Rome . Today, we are revisiting our conversation as he is promoting his much anticipated spy thriller, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the all-star cast includes Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, and Hugh Grant. Based on the television series by Sam Rolfe, the story is set in the 1960's and follows CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin as they participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons. The U.S. release date is set for August 14, but the cast recently did some press for the film in the Eternal City, where much of it was shot. Luca Calvani Born in Tuscany, Calvani has traveled the world following his career. He began working as a model in the 1990's...
Post a Comment
Read more