A Conversation with Director Luca Caserta

Luca Caserta's 2019 short film "Dimmi chi sono" (Tell Me Who I Am) has received high acclaim from every corner of the globe.

"Dimmi chi sono" is the story of a young mother who is violently attacked during a walk and is so traumatized that she loses her memory, taking shelter in an abandoned house and doing what she can to get by. The film was inspired by a true story that Caserta saw on the news in northern Italy.

Actress Elisa Bertato delicately balances the myriad of emotions that her character is feeling, including fear, loneliness, confusion, and determination. The film speaks to the international movement aimed at ending violence against women and has taken on its own voice in spreading awareness of the movement throughout the world.

The soundtrack includes the song "Piccola stella senza cielo" by the Italian rock star Luciano Ligabue, courtesy of the artist himself and Warner Music Italia/Warner Chappell Music Italiana.

The film was recently in the lineup of the Italian Section of the Rochester Independent Global Film Series, which I curated, and, in doing so, I had the opportunity to speak with the filmmakers about the stories behind their works. Check out highlights from my interview with Caserta..

Born in an artistically inspiring environment within a family of directors, writers, and actors, Caserta earned a Master’s degree in Prehistoric Archaeology before deciding to pursue an artistic career. He began by working in theater. He then pursued a filmmaking degree at the Movie Academy of Cinecittà in Rome, studying under the direction of Golden Age director and screenwriter Carlo Lizzani along with Giacomo Scarpelli, Cristiano Bortone, Franco Brogi Taviani, and Mario Brenta. He also studied cinematography with Giuseppe Pinori, Daniele Nannuzzi, and Giuseppe Berardini and attended workshops by Pupi Avati, Carlo Verdone, and Luis Bacalov.

At Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome he attended the intensive laboratory in direction of photography with Giuseppe Lanci and took part in several workshops, including “Working with the light” with the director of photography Alessandro Pesci.

Since completing his studies, he has dedicated himself exclusively to cinema and audiovisuals. He's made short films, documentaries, music videos, commercials, and art videos. His works have been presented at many festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Premi David di Donatello, Berlin European Short Film Festival, Roma Cinema DOC, Miami Independent Film Festival, Los Angeles CineFest, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, and many more.

In 2011, he wrote, directed, and co-produced the short film “Inside the Mirror” with editing supervision by Ugo De Rossi, who worked with many maestros of Italian cinema, including Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Francesco Rosi. The film, along with “Out of the Depths" (2014) and “The Other Side of the Moon” (2016) is part of the “trilogy on the double," which focuses on the investigation of what is hidden in the deepest part of the human soul. “Out of the Depths” was acquired by IndiePix Films, which offers it on demand in the United States and worldwide through its website. Click here to watch it.

Caserta is currently working on his first feature film. Click here to follow him on Instagram.

Comments

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" ...

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...

Ettore Scola explores enduring friendships and lost ideals in 'C’eravamo tanto amati'

A scene from "C'eravamo tanti amati" Mixing both tragedy and humor, Ettore Scola ’s 1974 film “C’eravamo tanto amati” (“We All Loved Each Other So Much”) follows 30 years in the lives of three men and the woman they each adore. By examining how his generation changed after the war, Scola makes a film that reflects its era. Scola explores the moral, political and emotional evolution of Italy’s postwar generation and, in doing so, creates a film that is a chronicle of its time and a love letter to cinema. The story begins in the aftermath of World War II. Three friends — Antonio ( Nino Manfredi ), Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) and Nicola (Stefano Satta Flores) — emerge from the Italian Resistance with a shared dream of justice, equality and social renewal. They are united by their hope that the sacrifices of war will lead to a better world. But the decades that follow prove to be challenging as Italy undergoes massive social changes, from the postwar economic boom to the politi...

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 ...

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...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog