The New Italian Cinema Festival at SIFF Cinema opened strong this week with acclaimed director Marco Risi's Fortàpasc. Risi's film tells the story of a young Italian journalist who was gunned down by the "Camorra" after his investigation into corruption made the leaders of the criminal organization a little too uncomfortable.
On Wednesday the Festival followed up Risi's gritty tale with the lush and poignant film Sea Purple.
Sea Purple is a beautifully shot tale of a young woman dealing with her sexuality while growing up in Sicily during the 19th-century. Angela (Valeria Solarino) is a strong willed women who declares her love for Sara even when that love is admonished by society and by the strong male power structure in her village.
Undeterred by the threats from her overbearing and violent father she rebukes an arranged marriage and declares that Sara is the only person she wants to wed. This proclamation of love is the last straw for the father who locks away the daughter he had always wished had been a son.
No longer able to bear the sight of her daughter locked away, Angela's mother devises a plan in desperation. If the father wanted a son - then Angela will become Angelo.
After the transformation to a man, many things change for Angela/o -- none more eye-opening than experiencing the male power structure from the inside. But the one thing that does not change is her strong and unapologetic love for Sara.
Filmmaker Donatella Maiorca was recently in town to talk about her second feature film Sea Purple. An excerpt from that conversation follows.
What has been the reaction from audiences at American festivals?
American audiences are more free than the Italian Audience because the story is a love story between two women in Sicily in the 19th-century. So, it's not only a story about homosexuality -it's also a story of freedom and also a story on women identity.
There is not just only one movie. There is one movie for each audience member who sees the film. I have no expectations about audience reactions. I prefer to be surprised.
What made you want to tell this story?
The film was inspired from a book (Minchia di Re by Giacomo Pilati) based on a true story. It's something important...that this was a true story 19th-century. It has become a current topic today.
How did you go about casting Valeria Solarino in the lead role?
I think in Italy there is only one actress that can play this role and it is Valeria Solarino. I'm sure of this because it's very interesting for an actress to play this role because it's a double role -- a man and a woman. But it's difficult because it's not only about physical credibility but also for the way we shot the film. Valeria has to play the double role - and because we don't shoot in sequence she needed to change back and forth everyday - And it's not so easy. I think only Valeria can do this in Italy at this moment. Not because she's the only good actor -- there are many good actors in Italy. But she's the only one that can do this.
The story is multi-faceted. What are some of the key themes you address?
This movie has many feelings. It deals with homosexuality, sure, but it's also a big, big love story. It's about identity - the women identity in Sicily and Italy - that is not so easy to affirm. It's also about the lies of power. You see that the father has all of the power and so he can lie at will.
What is the current state of filmmaking in Italy?
The situation in Italy is not easy because our political and economic situation - like throughout the world - is not good. In Italy it's worse because of the political ministers - they don't "get" the cinema. They say terrible words about Italian cinema and Italian directors...it's really a shame. With our film we were lucky because we found support in this production from the film commission and also the ministry of culture.
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Co-presented with New Italian Cinema Events and the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association the Festival of New Italian Cinema runs Nov. 17 -21 at SIFF Cinema. Click here for film and ticket information.
Click here for more from Michael Nank on film, music, theater and more -- or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/mikeunited
Comments
Great movie. Very moving. Hope it will be released in more areas throughout the country
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