BASELthe director’s first work Isabella Towerclosing film, out of competition, of the 21st edition of the Giornate degli autori within the 81st Venice Film Festival. The film will be screened in Sala Perla at 5pm tomorrow, September 6, in the presence of the director, the cast, the producers and the Calabria Film Commission.
This is a production by Stayblack Productions, with Rai Cinema and the Co-production Snowglobe, Film I Väst; filmed in the scenic beauty of Aspromonte, in Antonimina, in the province of Reggio; with music by Andrea De Sica and edited by Jonas Carpignano. “Aspromonte, with its harsh and merciless landscape, is the true protagonist of my story – explains the director Isabella Torre – There the past is a constant presence, the repository of tradition but also of an inescapable destiny. Conflicts explode suddenly at particular moments, when it is necessary to deal with external forces and foreign threats. In my story the archaeologist and his activities represent this sudden and violent intrusion that unleashes unimaginable consequences. But the attempt to bring the past to light and bend it to the imperatives of science and commerce unleashes violent and monstrous reactions. From the bowels of the violated and wounded earth emerge the Nymphs, threatening and fascinating at the same time. They are creatures without restraints, neither human nor divine, neither alive nor dead. Once freed, they infiltrate the life of the nearby villages, spreading death and destruction. They are indefinable creatures, ephemeral and ethereal like the mist of the surrounding mountains, but they leave an indelible mark on everything they touch. They are there to re-establish the distance between men and the mysteries of the world…”.
The film stars Angela Fontana, the star of “Indivisibili,” Elliott Crosset Hove (“Wildland,” and “Godland,” and Koudous Seihon (“Mediterranea,” “A Ciambra”).
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY:
Isabella Torre is an Italian director, writer and actress. In 2018 she wrote, directed and starred in her first short film, Ninfe, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. In 2019 she directed Vernice, a documentary short film, on the theme of the second generation of immigrants in Italy, based on the story of Mojo, a rapper from Rome. Isabella returned to Venice in 2021 with her short film Luna Piena, presented at the
International Critics’ Week. Basileia is Isabella’s first feature film.
The plot: In the thick fog and wild nature of Aspromonte, an archaeologist and his assistants search for an ancient treasure. But their excavations unleash mysterious and mythical creatures that will forever change the lives of the inhabitants of a remote mountain village.