director
The strong ring
My project arises from the witness of two women taken from the "The Strong Ring" (L’anello Forte) by Nuto Revelli, an author whose keen and particular outlook has always interested me.
In the course of the CGIL trade union's centennial, I was asked to shoot this small film with two extraordinary theater actresses: Maria Paiato and Lunetta Savino.
Both immersed themselves in that agrarian world, studied the relevant texts and recited them in Piedmont, precisely in the very same hills and valleys of the Cuneo and Langhe districts, where Revelli had recorded those precious testimonies.
The first story, played by Maria Paiato, is that of a woman who as a girl once herded cattle to the highland pastures. Then at the tender age of fourteen, she landed a job at a wig shop where on several occasions, she even sold her own pretty locks to support her impoverished family.
Lunetta Savino instead tells us the story of a woman from the South who marries “via photo” and goes to live in the Langhe district. The initial impact is traumatic both for her and the hamlet hosting her. Her paradoxical final observation is that “in truth, between north and south there really isn't all that much difference...”
In order to further immerse the actresses into the actual period referenced in the stories, I used archive footage from the Istituto Luce portraying the life and times of women in those years.
Though using homogeneous scales and melodies, with the music we tried to differentiate the two narrated realities. The two stories have in common the sonority of the maxims enunciated by the “chorus,” poised to underscore the oppressive immutability of a life subjected to the harsh judgment of others.
Title
Italian title
Year
Production
Story and screenplay
Direction of photografy
Sound engineering
Editing
Music
Direction
Cast
The strong ring
L’anello forte
2006
Intelfilm
Anna Di Francisca
Andrea Treccani
Massimiliano Marcon
Simona Paggi
Paolo Perna
Anna Di Francisca
Maria Paiato, Lunetta Savino