Nuovo Cinema Para Virus

During the lockdown, the Cinema sends a video-letter to humankind: the theatres are closed, sets are locked and the Cinema can no longer create new dreams.

Director: Daniele Pignatelli
Length: 05:32
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Year: 2020

Additional Info

Director Biography: Daniele Pignatelli is a film maker who has done several installations all over the world. He took part in the most important film festivals worldwide and got several prestigious awards including:“Menzione speciale della Giuria Aiace” at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival;”Kodak European Award for New Talents" at the 55th Cannes International Film Festival. In 2013 he gained the certificate of merit for cinematic excellence awarding at 55th Rochester International Film Festival, New York. In february 2014 during the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi-Moscow, he was one of five international artists invited to represent one of 5 Olympic rings for the centenary of the Olympic flag. All the works were exhibited at Manege Museum and Daniele performed his film “MARE1”. At the moment he is engaged on several fronts including installations in some European cities and the realization of a feature film with a social background.

Director Statement: Living alone, stuck in my flat for the lockdown, it came up to my mind that movies has been infected by the virus not allowing touches also in movies as it is among the human; so, during the lockdown, the Cinema sends a video-letter to humankind: the theaters are closed, sets are locked and the Cinema can no longer create new dreams. Sets have been chosen considering the movie, the director and the actors (43 actors in total, an outstanding cast!). Once the blinds were down, I shot with two lights every afternoon for three weeks, decorating the sets with paintings and pictures already available in my flat. Then I managed remotely the post production with my editor and the writing of the letter (the voice-over) with my screenwriter. Thanks to this project, that kept me busy in a creative way, time of lockdown flew. Maria Pia Di Meo, “the voice of the cinema”, is the movie’s voice-over. She is one of the greatest Italian dubbers, the historic voice of Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Mac Line, Bibi Andersson and many other actresses. In the English version Cinema is forever child, that’s why the voice-over is an 8 year old boy, my son Filippo Aki Pignatelli.

Producer: Luca Pignatelli
Writer: Daniele Pignatelli, Claudia Cassandro
Cast: Maria Pia Di Meo