{"id":141821,"date":"2022-10-20T15:22:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T09:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-needed-to-free-myself\/"},"modified":"2022-10-20T15:23:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T09:53:26","slug":"i-needed-to-free-myself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/i-needed-to-free-myself\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Needed To Free Myself.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\nSaverio Costanzo, an Italian screenwriter and director, has wrapped production on his next film. Finalemente L\u2019Alba, <\/em>starring newcomer Rebecca Antonaci alongside international cast Lily James,\u00a0Joe Keery, Willem Dafoe and Rachel Sennott.<\/p>\n

\n\tSet in the golden age of Rome\u2019s historic Cinecitt\u00e0 in the 1950s, the feature follows teenage ingenue Mimosa (Antonaci) over the course of one night after she is hired as an extra.<\/p>\n

\nAn unsettling shadow hangs over her personal trip in the mysterious passing of Wilma Montesi. This was a real-life young lady from Rome who had aspirations to act. Her semi-naked corpse was discovered on a beach near Lazio in 1953.<\/p>\n

\n\tA cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre at the time, amid theories she had been caught up in a high society prostitution and drugs ring, Federico Fellini conjured up her spirit in the final scene of his 1960 classic La Dolce Vita<\/em>, in the figure of the blond-haired girl who calls out to Marcello Mastroianni\u2019s character on the beach.<\/p>\n

\nMimosa, who is working with an international cast on an Ancient Egypt-set sandals and swords production, is plunged into the chaotic, glamorous and unpredictable world of film over the course of one evening. She will also encounter the darker side.<\/p>\n

\nLily plays the neurotic Hollywood starlet Josephine. Keery, a rising actor, is taking on bit parts. Dafoe, an American artist gallerist, is an old friend of Josephine. Sennott, an Egyptian princess, is Sennott.<\/p>\n

\n\tMario\u00a0Gianani\u00a0and Lorenzo\u00a0Gangarossa\u00a0at Rome-based Fremantle company Wildside produce with Rai Cinema.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinalmente L\u2019Alba<\/em> marks Costanzo\u2019s first directorial credit since hit HBO drama My Brilliant Friend<\/em>, adapted from Elena Ferrante\u2019s best-selling literary quartet The Neapolitan Novels<\/em>The story of two teenage girls growing up in sexist 1950s Naples culture.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production also marks Constanzo\u2019s first feature since psychological thriller Hungry Hearts<\/em>The movie, which was first shown in Venice in 2014 by Alba Rohrwacher, won the Volpi Cup for best actress and actor respectively.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinalmente L\u2019Alba <\/em>wrapped on October 15 after an eight-week shoot mainly in Cinecitt\u00e0, where Fremantle has a five-year lease on six of its studios, where the production also built exterior sets [pictured below]. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere were also location shoots on Rome\u2019s famed Piazza di Spagna, the ruins of the Roman villa of Quintili as well as other locations across the city.<\/p>\n

\n\tAward-winning Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, whose credits include Luca Guadagnino\u2019s Call me by your name<\/em>e Suspiria<\/em> and Apichatpong Weerasethakul\u2019sUncle Boonmee, Who Can Recall His Past Lives<\/em>The attached production shot on 35mm is by, <\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline visited the Cinecitt\u00e0 set on the tri-ultimate day of filming, sitting down with Costanzo to discuss the genesis of the project and its production.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n\tDeadline: After the long hours of work, you will be glad to take a break with this film \u2018My Brilliant Friend\u2019?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSaverio Costanzo:<\/strong>This is my first original work. My films are always based on a book or a private story that I have adapted. This is my dawn. It’s a new beginning. It is a personal inspiration that I draw from something that happened to myself.<\/p>\n

\nItaly is very misogynist to me. After the experience of Ferrante, of being in a woman\u2019s shoes for such a long time, six years, I had a lot to say about that but in my own way, which wasn\u2019t that of Ferrante. I believe every film comes from something you\u2019ve done before. It\u2019s like a circle. You become something and then you express what you\u2019ve become.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: You don’t know where to start. \u2018Finalemente L\u2019Alba\u2019?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:\u00a0<\/strong>Wilma Montsi. It\u2019s a cold case. This investigative stuff is what I enjoy. That was the beginning of my story. Writing is a mysterious process. You never know exactly what you\u2019re really doing. I enjoyed playing with different genres and cinema. This was my response to being a director and showrunner for so many years on a TV series. I needed to get out of my own way.<\/p>\n

\nOn My Brilliant Friend<\/em>I was writing, directing and showrunning. I was very sincere with myself, but at the same time Ferrante was always above me, not because she was imposing something \u2013 I was free to do anything \u2013 but because I was trying to bring to the screen, her characters, her drama, her narrative and to give it back to the readers.\u00a0I had to let go of that narrative box. I let go of the narrative and allowed myself to enjoy the adventure with this young lady.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: Is Wilma Montesi in the film?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong>It’s not true. The film was made four days after she discovered her body. Everyone in Rome is talking to it. It\u2019s in the background and feeds into Mimosa\u2019s journey. There\u2019s a Hitchcockian atmosphere, a sense that something dark could also happen to her.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: The film is therefore a thriller.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo: <\/strong>There are many \u201cGiallo\u201d elements, but no, it\u2019s a comedy, not a comedy in the vein of Mr Bean<\/em>It is a very light film and a fairytale. There is also the dark side. Every coming-of-age story has to pass by a moment when things are very dark otherwise you don\u2019t come back alive.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: How did Rebecca Antonaci find you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong>Barilla was the first company I worked with. I had her in my mind when I began writing the film. I then looked into other options to confirm my thoughts and came back to her. She is reminiscent of Giulietta Massina. She can be a bit familiar, but also have a unique ability to change.<\/p>\n

\nI practiced the key stuff with her and then let her go. She\u2019s one of the best actresses I\u2019ve worked with and then she was surrounded by Willem, Lily and Joe, who are all really professional.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: How did you get the international cast to accept smaller supporting roles with a newcomer?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong>They would be happy to answer your questions. In the case of Willem, I know he didn\u2019t want to play a secondary character but in the end, he agreed because his character has a very touching key scene and he wanted to be part of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe the reason everyone accepted my offer is that even if they\u2019re not primary characters, every character is respected and everyone is kind of a protagonist and memorable in their own way. You will always remember them all.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: Do you think the stories of Cinecitt\u00e0 and Rome\u2019s cinematic glory days in the 1950s and 1960s, are based on truth or myth?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo: <\/strong>I wasn\u2019t there. \u00a0My cinematographic memories are limited, but I believe that the best cinema created in Italy in the 1950s and 60s was cinematographic. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\nMaking this film made me appreciate the special qualities and virtues of this era. There was no psychology. People were acting very crazy and irrationally. There was so much freedom. It\u2019s after the war and just before the economic boom. People didn\u2019t know where they would end up. Life was an adventure. This work will give me that same energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: Italy is currently enjoying a fresh film and TV production boom and Cinecitt\u00e0 is buzzing. You think there will be a revival of the 50s and 60s style?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong> It won\u2019t be the same with all the problems we are facing right now, not to be too pessimistic, with the environment, global warming, the war. It\u2019s impossible for it to be the same.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut I\u2019ve been shooting here in Cinecitt\u00e0 since August and there\u2019s a very good atmosphere. This film was shot in Rome by the men who were there to shoot it. The city is more international and cosmopolitan than it was five years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: How does it feel to direct a film set within your home town of Rome, after all these years of telling stories in Naples?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong>This is my first film in Rome. As it takes place over the course of just one night, we can\u2019t show much of the city but it\u2019s a deeply Roman film. The old Roman accent, their language, and the faces.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: Numerous directors, from Federico Fellini and Paolo Sorrentino, have taken inspiration from Rome. What’s special about this city?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo: <\/strong>It\u2019s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The film doesn’t portray the grandeur of Rome. However, scenes were shot in Piazza di Spagna. We went there in the early morning to shoot.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019d never understood it [Piazza di Spagna] as a place before \u2013 it\u2019s too touristic \u2013 but working there for two hours at dawn each day, I finally understood. As a Roman, I\u2019m used to it, but for Paolo Sorrentino coming from Naples, or Federico Fellini from Rimini, it was an Eldorado.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: Have you worked with the same crew? \u2018My Brilliant Friend\u2019?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tCostanzo:<\/strong>No, I changed everyone. It was again set in 1950s, just like the first series. We\u2019d already watched the 1950s together. I was looking to do something completely different. I\u2019ve ended up with a very young crew which I\u2019m very happy about.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline: <\/strong>After working so hard on a drama, was it difficult to adjust to the feature’s 90-minute format?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\nBefore this, I had done four features. Although drama is quite different, my approach was the exact same. You can read more about it here. My Brilliant Friend<\/em>A half-hour episode is a full film. You can watch the same episode twice. Television is like a happy marriage; cinema is like a passion that burns.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saverio Costanzo, an Italian screenwriter and director, has wrapped production on his next film. Finalemente L\u2019Alba, starring newcomer Rebecca Antonaci alongside international cast Lily James,\u00a0Joe Keery, Willem Dafoe and Rachel Sennott. Set in the golden age of Rome\u2019s historic Cinecitt\u00e0 in the 1950s, the feature follows teenage ingenue Mimosa (Antonaci) over the course of one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":141822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,3,105,106],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/I-Needed-To-Free-Myself.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141821"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141823,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141821\/revisions\/141823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}