Handmade Cinema

Director Guido Torlonia and co-writer Laura Delli Colli (Handmade Cinema) and director Giovanna Taviani (The Rescue) in person for Q&As at both screenings!

Wigmakers, haberdashers, cobblers, builders, make-up artists, tailors, designers, and painters are just a few of the craftsmen whose trade and invisible hands help create the magic that the spectator experiences in cinema. This loving tribute is an homage to the mostly unknown elaborate artistry involved in the creation of films. Narrated by Chiara Mastroianni, who has known many of these artisans since she was a little girl accompanying her father Marcello on the sets, and brimming with wonderful archival footage of films and behind-the-camera scenes, it is also a tribute to the history of Italian cinema itself. Discovering the detailed manual skills behind epic titles like Cleopatra, Ben Hur, The Name of the Rose and Gangs of New York brings another dimension to our appreciation of the art of filmmaking. The documentary was financed by Louis Vuitton to screen at the opening of their new store and screening room in Rome.

Screening with:
The Rescue / Il riscato
Giovanna Taviani | Italy | 2013 | 22m

The story of Salvatore Striano, the main character of the Taviani brothers’ film, Caesar Must Die/Cesare deve morire, who is rescued from the hell of prison after discovering Shakespeare.