| Director: | Mario Martone |
|---|---|
| Production: | Indigo Film (Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori), Rai Cinema, Tornasol (Mariela Besuievsky) |
| Running Time: | 133’ |
| Language: | Neapolitan dialect, Italian |
| Country: | Italy, Spain |
| Main Cast: | Toni Servillo, Maria Nazionale, Cristiana Dell'Anna, Antonia Truppo, Eduardo Scarpetta, Roberto De Francesco, Lino Musella, Paolo Pierobon, Gianfelice Imparato, Iaia Forte, Roberto Caccioppoli, Greta Esposito, Nello Mascia, Gigio Morra |
| Screenplay: | Mario Martone, Ippolita di Majo |
| Cinematographer: | Renato Berta |
| Editor: | Jacopo Quadri |
| Production Designer: | Giancarlo Muselli, Carlo Rescigno |
| Costume Designer: | Ursula Patzak |
| Sound: | Alessandro Zanon |
| Visual Effects: | Rodolfo Migliari |
Cinema
Qui rido io
Venezia 78 Competition
Synopsis
At the beginning of the 20th century, in Belle Époque Naples, theatres and the cinema were thriving. The great comic actor Eduardo Scarpetta was the king of the box office. Of humble origin, he made his reputation with his comedies and the character of Felice Sciosciammocca. The theatre was his life and around the theatre gravitated the whole of his peculiar family, composed of wives, partners, lovers and legitimate and illegitimate children, including Titina, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo.
In 1904, at the height of his popularity, Scarpetta took a great risk: he staged a parody of La figlia di Iorio, a tragedy written by the greatest Italian poet of the day, Gabriele D’Annunzio. The evening of its première in the theatre all hell broke loose: the performance was interrupted by boos and catcalls and Scarpetta ended up being sued for plagiary by D’Annunzio himself. It was the beginning of the first ever lawsuit on copyright in Italy.
The years that the case took would be draining for him and his whole family. Everything in Scarpetta’s life seemed to be falling apart, but with the act of a great thespian he would take his fate into his own hands and win in the end.
Director’s Statement
For the whole of his life the great Eduardo De Filippo refused to ever talk about Scarpetta as a father, only as a man of the theatre. After his brother Peppino painted a pitiless portrait of their father in an autobiography, Eduardo never spoke to him again. He was interviewed shortly before his death by a writer friend: “Now we are old, the time has come to say something about it: was Scarpetta a strict father or a bad father?” The answer was the same as ever: “He was a great actor”.
Qui rido io is the imaginary story of Eduardo Scarpetta and his tribe.
Production/Distribution
PRODUCTION 1: Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori – Indigo Film
Via Torino 135
00184 – Roma, Italia
Tel. +39 06 77250255
info@indigofilm.it
http://www.indigofilm.it
PRODUCTION 2: Rai Cinema
Piazza Adriana 12
00193 – Roma, Italia
Tel. +39 0633179601
anna.pomara@raicinema.it
http://www.raicinema.rai.it
PRODUCTION 3: Mariela Besuievsky – Tornasol
C/ De la Princesa, 25 Floor 4ª – Office 7
28008 – Madrid, Spain
Tel. +34 911023024
tornasol@tornasolmedia.com
http://www.tornasolmedia.com
WORLD SALES: Gaetano Maiorino – True Colours
Largo Italo Gemini 1
00161 – Roma, Italia
Tel. +39 0637352334
gaetano@truecolours.it
http://www.treucolours.it
ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Sonia Dichter – 01 Distribution
Piazza Adriana 12
00193 – Roma, Italia
Tel. +39 0633179601
soniapisana.dichter@raicinema.it
http://www.01distribution.it
INTERNATIONAL PRESS OFFICE: Gloria Zerbinati
Tel. +33 (0)7 86 80 02 82
gloria.zerbinati@gmail.com
ITALIAN PRESS OFFICE: Manuela Cavallari – Fosforo
Via Nicolò Piccolomini 1
00165 – Roma, Italia
Tel. +39 0683795469
manuela.cavallari@fosforopress.com
