The charm and dangers of nature, the relationship between man and its disturbing beauty, at the centre of “Pietra Madre”, documentary by directors Daniele Greco and Mauro Maugeri (the first from Aci Castello, the second from Aci Castello), proposed to the press yesterday after the premiere on July 17th in the Officina Sicilia section.
Produced by Artescienza sas and Associazione Culturale Scarti ETS, the film follows the lives of four characters who have survived a recent earthquake, whose respective lives gravitate around Etna, united by the seductive power that the volcano exerts on each of them: the volcanologist Boris Behnckewhich interprets the signals of the earth, Father Samson Socorro Fernandesa priest of the Church of Pennisi (Acireale), intent on keeping alive the hope of his earthquake-stricken faithful, the healer Nunzia Testa, who supports her acolytes with ancient Sicilian healing arts. And, finally, Bahman Alaj, an Iranian spiritual professor, a pantheistic mystic who builds a hut at the foot of the volcano and fixes his spiritual goal on the turbulent summit craters.
A narrative, that of the documentary, whose development is not entrusted to the voices of the protagonists, but rather to the sounds of their actions, to the noises of their daily lives. Phone calls, prayers, liturgies, even breathing, constitute the soundtrack of the film and the means that introduces the viewer to the Volcano, also accompanying him with the original music of the composer from Acireale Riccardo Leotta.
“We realized that Etna represented a bit of a catalyst for experiences useful for telling aspects that are relevant to man,” Greco said. “First of all, the relationship with the Earth and, secondly, a form of spirituality that Etna develops in each of us, and we wanted to tell it through characters who are a bit extreme, with strong motivations for maintaining a relationship with Etna.”
The directorial gaze that Greco and Maugeri have taken from their previous work “I Misteri”, dedicated to Sicilian religious festivals and presented at various international festivals, is fundamental. «We wanted to use the same language and also that way of working together that has been perfected, leading to something substantially unpredictable. We were able to chase the eruptions of Etna, collect the testimonies of people who grew up on the slopes of the volcano and, in carrying on the story, we developed a very close relationship with these characters because we shared the same experience: the desire to tell something intangible, but also very concrete, like the wait for the eruption of Etna. This has brought us very close, creating a cultural intimacy, a great mutual trust, with those who open the doors of their home to you at any time and under any conditions, or accept that their phone be monitored».
“Pietra Madre” was created within the framework of the Pact for the Development of the Sicilian Region (Pact for the South), with the support of the Sicilia Film Commission.
