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Basilicata: Terra di Cinema: The Documentary Film "Matera 15/19"


A fascinating new project is in the works to correspond with the 2019 European Capital of Culture's designated city- Matera. Three regional directors are creating a documentary film, which will be comprised of four vignettes related to Matera and its neighboring towns.

Matera 15/19 is a labor of love for these three lucani filmmakers who take pride in their region and would like to show the amazing transformation this newfound culture hub has made since the days of Carlo Levi's 1945 portrait of poverty and desperation in his book Christ Stopped at Eboli. The book was later made into a movie by Francesco Rosi and although the book and film brought much-needed attention to he plight of the people, it has been tough for the region to shake those images. Even today, leading tourist books often written by authors who never stepped foot in the region refer to Levi's portrayal, calling the region underdeveloped and poor. Basilicata's new generation of filmmakers are slowly but surely putting an end to those antiquated stereotypes, showing their region for the lively culture capital it has become. The people of Basilicata take pride in their rich history and by no means are trying to abandon their story. However, Basilicata is no longer the poverty-stricken, desolate region it was 70 years ago. The very first trailer for the project demonstrates how these filmmakers are bringing together the past and the present, highlighting the young and the new, while appreciating the old and the traditions. I spoke with the creators of Matera 15/19 for a better idea of what we can expect from this unique project. Our interview was done in Italian, so both versions are included.

Tell me about this project Matera 15/19..
Matera 15/19 is not a simple documentary. It's a project that will be developed in four years, from now until 2019, the year in which Matera will be European Capital of Culture. There will be four episodes that describe the history and the present state of the southern Italian region Basilicata. In recent years, the region has seen much change and has transformed from "Italy's shame" as it was once called to Europe's Capital of Culture. Each episode will have a narrative core dedicated to a specific character. For the first episode, which we just finished shooting after more than a year of filming, we decided to focus on the story of a family in Matera- their memories of living in the ancient Sassi district, the expectations of the family members and their visions of the future.
 
Raccontami questo progetto Matera 15/19..
"Matera 15/19” non è un semplice documentario, è un progetto che si svilupperà in quattro anni, da oggi e fino al 2019, anno in cui Matera sarà Capitale europea della Cultura. Quattro episodi che descriveranno la storia e il presente di una regione del Sud Italia, la Basilicata, che negli ultimi anni ha visto concretizzarsi la progressione di un cambiamento che trova ad oggi la sua massima rappresentazione nel passaggio da “vergogna d’Italia” - così veniva definita un tempo Matera - a Capitale della Cultura.

Ogni episodio avrà un nucleo narrativo dedicato ad uno specifico protagonista. Per il primo episodio - che abbiamo appena finito di girare dopo più di un anno di riprese e oltre 4.000 km percorsi in lungo e in largo per la Basilicata - abbiamo deciso di focalizzarci sul racconto di una famiglia materana, dei suoi ricordi quando si viveva nei Sassi, delle aspettative dei suoi componenti e le loro visioni rispetto al futuro.


Why did you want to tell this story?
Basilicata is a land known for being spoken of and represented in history by people from other areas, sometimes even far away: think of Carlo Levi, Mario Carbone, then Pasolini and most recently Mel Gibson. Since the Calabrese are our neighbors, we were immediately interested in the opinions and feedback coming from that region as well as all the international observers over time and just recently, with the proclamation in October 2014 when Matera was named the European Capital of Culture. This event, which has led to a better understanding of these territories, Matera and Basilicata as a whole, has helped us analyze and describe (from a southern point-of-view) the best ways to embrace these years of redemption.
 
Cosa ti ha spinto a raccontare questa storia?
 La Basilicata è una terra nota per essere stata raccontata e rappresentata, nella storia, da persone provenienti da altri territori, a volte anche lontani: si pensi a Carlo Levi, a Mario Carbone, poi Pasolini e più di recente Mel Gibson. Come calabresi e, quindi, non diretti e consapevoli conoscitori di quei territori - seppur “vicini di casa”, considerato che Calabria e Basilicata sono confinanti - ci siamo anche noi lasciati affascinare immediatamente dalle suggestioni provenienti da quella regione, giunta alla ribalta degli osservatori internazionali già da tempo e, solo in ultimo, con la proclamazione (nello stupore generale) in ottobre 2014 a Capitale europea della Cultura. Questo evento c’ha indotto ad approfondire la conoscenza di quei territori, di Matera e della Basilicata tutta, per analizzare e descrivere (da meridionali) quali possano essere i migliori percorsi affrontabili da un Sud che cerca da anni il riscatto definitivo.


Tell me about the music- in particular, the song used in the first trailer.
The song of the first trailer of Matera 15/19: Episode I is The Shepherd's Walk from the album Join the Coordinator produced and distributed by The Snail Records, Gas Vintage Records and Goodfellas. Another song we used was written and performed by a good friend and great musician, Aldo D'Orrico - aka Al the Coordinator - with whom we have often collaborated in the past. Aldo along with Mirko Onofrio and Stefano Amato of Brunori Sas worked on the soundtrack of our latest film noir Scale Model - The Woman Killed Twice. We also made video clips for two of his songs, The Hunter's Prayer and The Mist.
Da dove viene quella bella canzone avete usato nel primo trailer?
La canzone è scritta ed eseguita da un nostro caro amico nonché grande musicista, Aldo D’Orrico - in arte Al the Coordinator - con il quale abbiamo più volte collaborato in passato. Ha firmato a sei mani, insieme a Mirko Onofrio e Stefano Amato della Brunori Sas, la colonna sonora del nostro ultimo film, il noir “Scale Model - La Donna che Uccise due Volte”, mentre noi abbiamo realizzato i videoclip di due suoi brani, “The Hunter’s Prayer” e “The Mist".
La canzone del primo trailer di “Matera 15/19: Episodio I” è "The Shepherd's Walk”, tratta dall'album "Join the Coordinator”, prodotto e distribuito da La Lumaca Dischi, Gas VIntage Rec. e Goodfellas.
Where will the documentary be shown?
Several different companies- institutional and private- collaborated on the documentary. It's directed by Fabrizio Nucci, Nicola Rovito and Alessandro Nucci. It's produced by Open Fields Productions in collaboration with ArifaFilm, the Region of Basilicata, Lucania Film Commission, BCC Laurenzana and Nova Siri. It has also been sponsored by the City of Matera, Basilicata and the University of the Pollino National Park. Given the many prestigious partners involved, the important issues that will be represented and the peculiarities of the project, our expectation is to reserve the first and the following three episodes for a national broadcast distribution, and why not, internationally, so that we can achieve maximum exposure. We've also always intended to submit the documentary to major film festivals once it's completed.
Dove sarà mostrato?
l documentario vede la collaborazione di diverse realtà produttive, istituzionali e private. È diretto da Fabrizio Nucci, Nicola Rovito e Alessandro Nucci, prodotto da Open Fields Productions in collaborazione con ArifaFilm, Regione Basilicata, Lucana Film Commission e BCC Laurenzana e Nova Siri. Vanta, inoltre, il patrocinio del Comune di Matera, dell'Università della Basilicata e del Parco Nazionale del Pollino. Considerati i molti e prestigiosi partner coinvolti, le importanti tematiche che verranno rappresentate e le peculiarità del progetto, la nostra aspettativa è di riservare al primo e ai seguenti tre episodi una diffusione broadcast nazionale e, perché no, internazionale, che possa favorire la massima condivisione dei suoi contenuti. Ancor prima, è nostra intenzione, una volta completato, presentarlo in anteprima all’interno di un importante Festival di categoria.

Click here to watch the first trailer.

Photos by Pierpaolo Perri

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