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Leonora addio

Competition 2022
© Umberto Montiroli
Three years after the loss of his brother Vittorio, with whom he shared his entire career, Paolo Taviani returns to the works of Luigi Pirandello, which the pair adapted in 1984 (Chaos) and 1998 (You Laugh). In keeping with the Sicilian playwright’s vision, the film is not at all what it appears to be. The title may come from a 1910 novella, but there is no trace of that book’s jealousy-riddled plot. Instead, the focus is on Pirandello himself, or rather, his ashes, which are transported from a hasty burial site in fascist Rome to a permanent resting place in Sicily, on a trek that takes us through post-war Italy and its filmed memories, as seen in newsreels, amateur films and fragments of Neorealism. Having buried the master, Leonora addio then shifts gear from road movie to film adaptation, but here it picks a different Pirandello story, namely the last one, written shortly before his death in 1936. From the farewell of the title to its return to the writer’s last words, it is hard not to read this work, so free and yet so much a part of the Taviani world, as a moving brotherly farewell which, just as in 2012’s Golden Bear winner Caesar Must Die, once again uses cinema to give voice to literature and history.
by Paolo Taviani
with Fabrizio Ferracane, Matteo Pittiruti, Dania Marino, Dora Becker, Claudio Bigagli Italy 2021 Italian, English 90’ Black/White & Colour

With

  • Fabrizio Ferracane (Delegate from the Commune of Agrigento)
  • Matteo Pittiruti (Bastianeddu)
  • Dania Marino (Betty)
  • Dora Becker (Betty’s Rival)
  • Claudio Bigagli (Vescovo)

Crew

Written and Directed by Paolo Taviani
Cinematography Paolo Carnera, Simone Zampagni
Editing Roberto Perpignani
Music Nicola Piovani
Sound Design Andrea Malavasi
Sound Maximilien Gobiet
Production Design Emita Frigato
Costumes Lina Nerli Taviani
Make-Up Romano Donati
Casting Simona Barbagallo
Assistant Director Christian Bonatesta
Production Manager Simone Bachini
Producer Donatella Palermo
Executive Producer Donatella Palermo
Co-Production Rai Cinema Rom
Luce Cinecittà Rom
Cinemaundici Rom

World sales

Fandango Sales

Produced by

Stemal Entertainment

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Paolo Taviani

© Gerald Bruneau

Born in San Miniato, Italy in 1931. Since 1954, he has made feature films and documentaries with his brother, Vittorio Taviani, with the two also writing the scripts. They won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Father and Master and the Grand Jury Prize for The Night of San Lorenzo. They received the Golden Lion at Venice in 1986 for their lifetime body of work. The films The Subversives, The Lark Farm and Caesar Must Die all screened at the Berlinale, with the two winning the Golden Bear for the latter. Rainbow – A Private Affair was the last film they made together.

Filmography

1954 San Miniato luglio ’44 1960 L’Italia non è un paese povero 1962 Un uomo da bruciare (A Man for Burning) 1963 I fuorilegge del matrimonio (Outlaws of Love) 1967 I sovversivi (The Subversives) 1969 Sotto il segno dello scorpione (Under the Sign of Scorpio) 1972 San Michele aveva un gallo (St. Michael Had a Rooster) 1974 Allonsanfàn 1977 Padre Padrone (Father and Master) 1979 Il prato (The Meadow) 1982 La notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of San Lorenzo) 1984 Kaos (Chaos) 1987 Good Morning, Babylon 1990 Il sole anche di notte (Sunshine Even by Night) 1993 Fiorile (Wild Flower) 1996 Le affinità elettive (The Elective Affinities) 1998 Tu ridi (You Laugh) 2001 Resurrezione (Resurrection); TV movie 2004 Luisa Sanfelice 2007 La masseria delle allodole (The Lark Farm) 2012 Cesare deve morire (Caesar Must Die) 2015 Maraviglioso Boccaccio (Wondrous Boccaccio) 2017 Una questione privata (Rainbow – A Private Affair) 2021 Leonora addio

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022