Italian Cinema Today

It was recently announced that documentary filmmaker Francesco Patierno will present his latest work "Camorra"  in the Sconfini program of the 75 th  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researching the treasures of Rai Teche archives and uncovered a number of period films, many of which were previously unpublished.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 giorn o"   (That Day). The compelling 10-minute film premiered at the 53 rd Venice Film Festival and was shown at more than 50 film festivals worldwide....

Among the diverse selections of the 75th Venice Film Festival is an adaptation of a short fiction by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.  Il Banchiere Anarchico (The Anarchist Banker) is the story of a banker who engages in a revealing conversation about why he  considers himself an anarchist even though he doesn't possess the obvious traits. Published in 1922 and set in a Lisbon café, the conversation takes place between a wealthy banker and his friend as the two have a friendly but passionate exchange about the qualities of a true anarchist. The wealthy banker stands by his claim that he is the only true anarchist left and makes a compelling and at times surprising argument to back his belief. I spoke with the creator of the film, Giulio Base for some insight into this story and why a piece of literature written nearly a century ago is still very relevant today. Let's just start at the beginning. Why did you want to adapt this story for the screen? I love Pessoa...