COSÌ RIDEVANO

Pedro Armocida and Anton Giulio Mancino

Gianni Amelio’s first feature film for theatrical release, Colpire al cuore (1983), is half a century away from his latest, Battlefield (2024). This journey is punctuated by the 1970s television experiments with Rai – beginning with La fine del gioco (1970) – short films, documentaries, novels, and the many precious pieces of a densely woven mosaic wherein the questions are more important than the answers. A vigilant, non-violent mastery is given rigorous loyalty, becoming meditated pedagogy and an intransigent goad. Over fifty years of cinema – in its broadest and most versatile connotation – Amelio has repeatedly explored the burden of childhood, the anxiety of adolescence, and the price of adulthood – categories that are in fact inextricably linked, constantly competing and merging with each other. Not coincidentally, The Stolen Children (1992), which won the Grand Prix of the Jury at the Cannes film festival, enjoyed  international success, as did The Way We Laughed (1998), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and marked a watershed with his subsequent production of the 2000s. In fact, this volume also pays due attention to the latter, including Amelio’s own ‘list’ of films directed by others, consequent to the awareness that in his journey of creative growth he has willingly gone beyond the confines of his comfort zone. 

His cinema has persistently, obstinately questioned the audience about the status of images, the recent and controversial history of Italy, and the recurring cycles of a dramatic, dangerous, and forever-challenging match. His unmistakable oeuvre and style in constant evolution have developed through ongoing engagement with his themes, operating within a principle of inalienable consistency, and involve the very function of the gaze, the technical medium and the ghosts of consciousness, form and substance of representation.

Essays, interviews, and recollections by: Gianni Amelio, Alberto Anile, Pedro Armocida, Chiara Borroni, Paola Casella, Roberto Chiesi, Gianmarco Cilento, Alberto Crespi, Francesco Crispino, Steve Della Casa, Emanuele Di Nicola, Fratelli D’Innocenzo, Simone Emiliani, Ilaria Feole, Federico Gironi, Enrico Magrelli, Anton Giulio Mancino, Emanuela Martini, Raffaele Meale, Emiliano Morreale, Francesco Pascali, Cristiana Paternò, Lucia Pavan, Federico Pedroni, Ilaria Ravarino, Mario Sesti, Barbara Sorrentini, Piero Spila, Caterina Taricano, Christian Uva, Vito Zagarrio.

The Special Event is co-organised with the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale. It presents a selection of Gianni Amelio’s theatrically released film chosen by the director himself.