Publication Date: 2011-04-03
Weekend in Italy Film Series with Cugno
Sicilian director in Toronto to present Salvatore, questa è la vita and La bella società
By Elena Serra
Gian Paolo Cugno, Sicilian scriptwriter and director, says he had “una lunga gavetta” which, however, has paid off very handsomely. His first work, Salvatore, questa è la vita (2006) received numerous awards and acknowledgements, such as the Globi d’Oro for new director, best film at Festival Cinemagorgrafico Europeo Amatoriale and Semiprofessionale, and the Farfalla d’Oro Agis Scuola award at the Festival Internazionale del Film in Rome, just to mention a few. Now with two films on his resumé – the second being La bella società (2010) with Raul Bova, Maria Grazia, and Giancarlo Giannini – and dozens of participations at festivals throughout the world, Cugno comes to Toronto to take part in the Weekend in Italy Film Series, organized by l’Altra Italia Association in collaboration with Toronto International Film Festival and Italian Cultural Institute. Corriere Canadese/Tandem interviewed him hours after his arrival to Toronto. He spoke about his career, his love for his native Sicily, and his vision of cinema. How did you become part of the world of film? “My route was very natural. Since I was a child I always loved stories very much, and I watched a lot of TV serials. It was the ’70s and TV had just three channels. I remember that the entire family gathered for these events, and I’d be enthralled for hours watching L’Odissea, Marco Polo, and other great serials produced by RAI. This love for stories then led me to read a lot and go to movies often, but I’d never have thought I’d become a director. If you’re born in a small town in Sicily (Editor’s note: Pachino, in Siracusa province), you certainly cannot say you wish to become a director: it seems too grandiose. But I’ve always had my head in the clouds, so to say. Then one day cinema came to my house: they were filming the scene of a film in a fishing village near where I was born, and I became curious and instead of going to school, for two weeks I’d go watch them work.” What did you learn? “I’d say that experience taught me that filmmaking takes teamwork, and that that’s what I wanted to do. I’ve always written, since I was young, and there was a time when I wanted to become a writer, but then I realized I needed to create and share in a different manner, working with others and not being in solitude writing. I like writing and I still do so, by my best moments is when stories take life, and can only happen through interaction with others.” What was the turning point in your career? “Definitely when I decided to move to Rome, about 15 years ago, and truly initiated this difficult adventure. My strength has always been the fact that producers liked what I wrote, and when I started with short films, therefore also telling my stories through images as well, my career as director really began.” A constant element in your stories is that of your land: Sicily. “To be sincere, I’d say I love universal stories, those that can occur anywhere. What I’m currently writing is a different story, set in China, based on a true story – this is a moment of change for me. My next film, instead, has already been finalized, and will be set in Sicily like my two preceding ones, but my Sicily is a different one. I don’t like folklore, or rather, the Sicily of the collective imagination – those usual aspects portrayed in film. Sicily for me is a place full of diversity, where you find all facets of the human soul, a mirror of Italy. This however has not yet been told in film. What’s been covered is the mafia, the poverty, the easy jokes. But the Sicily I know is romantic and strong, and I talk about it because one needs to talk about what one knows. But the stories are universal, just that until now I’ve always settled on an environment I’m familiar with and that belongs to me. However, now I feel the need for change, and want to open myself up to the world.” This weekend you’ll be in Toronto to present your two films. Is this your first time in Canada? “Yes. I’ve never been to Canada. In recent years I’ve presented my films all over the world, including South Africa, Russia, Iran, and many European countries. Now I’ll finally be in Canada.” Have you ever noticed a difference in public response in the different countries? “The public in each country is different, but the emotions are always the same. The faces and reactions change, but the problems, the joys, and the sorrows are the same all over the world.” Although you’ve directed just two films, you’ve already received numerous awards and acknowledgements. What touched you in particular? “Surely the one by the foreign press of the Globi d’Oro as best new director for 2008, but mostly the award for most-watched film in schools (Editor’s note: Farfalla d’Oro Agis Schuola 2006 award) won for Salvatore. Questa è la vita. But at the risk of appearing trite, I must say that more than the awards, the real gratification for me comes from the public, in their silence while watching a story I wrote and completed. When I see the public reacting, it’s truly a huge satisfaction. I don’t want to teach anyone anything, I just want to communicate, dialogue, contaminate and compare myself, and if someone loves my stories and watches them in silence, that to me is worth more than an award.” Weekend in Italy Film Series and a Meeting with Gian Paolo Cugno will take place April 1 and 2. Salvatore. Questa è la vita (2006) and La bella società (2010) by Gian Paolo Cugno will be screened April 2. Tickets are $12, tax included. Screenings will be held at Tiff Bell Lightbox in Toronto (350 King St. W.).
Publication Date: 2011-04-03 Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=11115
