presents

BECAUSEIAMAGENIUS!LORENZAMAZZETTI

by

SteveDELLACASAandFrancescoFRISARI

WrittenbyEmanuelaDELMONACOandFrancescoFRISARI

ProducedbyCarolinaLEVIinassociationwithFrancescaPADULA

with

LorenzaMAZZETTI

BernardoBERTOLUCCI,MalcolmMCDOWELL,DavidGRIECOPaolaMAZZETTI,DanteMORGANTI

AfilmrecognizedofculturalinterestwiththecontributionofMINISTRYOFHERITAGEANDCULTURALACTIVITYANDTOURISM

DIRECTORATEGENERALFORTHECINEMA

WiththesupportoftheBRITISHFILMINSTITUTE

ROMALAZIOFILMCOMMISSION

IncollaborationwithSKYARTEHD

PRESSOFFICEFILMGiuliaGaiatoCell:+393465606493Mail:gaiatogiulia@gmail.com

TANGRAMFILMCell:+393888788337Fixed065816446tangramfilm@tangramfilm.it

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CREDITS

Directedby SteveDELLACASA,FrancescoFRISARI

Writtenby EmanuelaDELMONACO,FrancescoFRISARI

With LorenzaMAZZETTIBernardoBERTOLUCCI,MalcolmMCDOWELL,DavidGRIECO,PaolaMAZZETTI,DanteMORGANTI

AProductionof TANGRAMFILM

Producedby CarolinaLEVI

InAssociationwith FrancescaPADULA

Editing AliceROFFINENGO

Photographyandfilming MartinaCOCCO

OriginalMusic RATCHEV&CARRATELLO

Animations FiammettaHORVAT

Sound PaoloTESTA

EditingSoundandMix FedericoTUMMOLO

Colorist ManuelaSPARTÀ

OrganizationforTangramFilm GiuliaCAMPAGNA

PhotoeVideoRepertoryMaterials BRITISHFILMINSTITUTENATIONALARCHIVE,ARCHIVIOSTORICOLUCE,LORENZAMAZZETTI

Internationaldistribution

DistributionItalyHomeVideo

PressOffice GiuliaGAIATO

Filmrecognizedofculturalinterestwiththecontributionof

MINISTRYOFHERITAGEANDCULTURALACTIVITIESANDTOURISMDIRECTORATE-GENERALFORTHECINEMA

Withthesupportof

BRITISHFILMINSTITITUTEandROMALAZIOFILMCOMMISSIONIncollaborationwith

SKYARTEHD

(Italy,2016,62’)

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SYNOPSIS

«Iamnotawriter,Ihavewrittenbooks.Iamnotapainter,Ihavepaintedpictures.Iamnotadirector,Ihavedirectedfilms»

LorenzaMazzetti

The“genius”ofLorenzaMazzettiisallinherprofoundgaze,andthemysteriousandfable-likeatmosphereinwhichshelivesandrecountsherownpersonalextraordinarytale,andtheworkswhichflowfromthis.AdoptedasachildbytheEinsteinfamily,whichwasthenmassacredbytheSSinfrontofhereyes,inthefirstyearsofthe50’sshewenttoLondontoforgetthistragedy.Shefoundherselfimpoverishedandalone,butshedidn’tloseheart,andwasable to join to the famousSladeSchoolofFineArt, requesting tobeadmitted:“Because I’m a genius!” – not knowing what else she could say… She stole a camera,inventedherselfasadirector,andshot“K”,afilmaboutthepersonshefeltmostcloseto,Kafka.WithLindsayAnderson,KarelReiszandTonyRichardson,sherevolutionizedEnglishcinema, founding the Free Cinemamovement, whichmilitated for a cinemawhich was“Free” and anti-establishment, attentive to the great social changes of the post-warperiod, and capable of founding neo-realism, poetry and that desire for rebellionwhichthenledtotheBeatles,toSwingingLondon,andtheRevolutionarytimesandchangesofthe60’s.MeanwhileLorenzacontinuedtoworkasawaitress,whilealsomakingfilms,andin1956wonaprizeatCanneswithher second film, “Together”, the taleof twodeafanddumbworkers, amid the rubble of a London still scarred by the signs of the Germanbombardment.InCannes,Zavattinifellinlovewiththefilmandproposedhiscollaborationwithher.Andso,LorenzadecidedtoreturntoItaly,butuponseeingagainhertwinsisterPaola, and theplacesof her childhood, she recalled the tragedy that shehad sought toremovefromhermind,andreturnedtofacingitalloveragainthroughart.Thusshewrote“Il cielo cade,” (The Sky is Falling), the amusing and tragic diary of a young girl whorecountswithferociousdelicacy,fascism,thewar,andwhathappenedtoherfamily.“Because I’m a Genius! Lorenza Mazzetti” focuses on these incredible years, whereLorenzadiscoversandbeginstoexploreher“genius”,whichwillthenfindotherandnewforms of expression, not only in film and books, but also in collaboration with themagazine “Vie Nuove”, in which she analyzed the dreams of Italians, and with themarionettesofherPuppetTheatreandthroughpainting.Inthefilm,itisLorenzaherselfwhotellshertale,whilesheaccompaniesusintheplacesofherpast, andofher life today,withher twin-sisterPaola, andherworldmadeupofmeetings and memories, always wearing the aura of her childhood freedom.With theparticipation of friends Bernardo Bertolucci, MalcolmMcDowell, and David Grieco, theimagesofherfilms,fromthoseoftheFreeCinema,andtheanimationsofherpaintings,in“BecauseI’maGenius!LorenzoMazzetti”tellsofalifewhichisauniquepersonalworkofart.

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DIRECTOR’SNOTES

«IaskmyselfifIcanlovemybabysistermorethantheDuce.IhoweverloveBabylikeJesus.JustlikeJesus,andIloveJesusabitmorethanGod,andGodlikeMussolini,andItaly

andtheFatherlandlessthanGod,butmorethanmyyellowteddy-bear.»

Openingworksfrom“TheSkyisFalling”WhenyougettoknowLorenza,youmeetthewomanwhobroughtneo-realismtoBritishcinema,andchangeditforever.WhenyougettoknowLorenza,youmeetawomanwhomade films by stealing the film cameras, and wrote novels without revealing that theywere her autobiographies. When you get to know Lorenza, you meet a woman whosurvivedacrushingtragedythankstoherart.WhenyougettoknowLorenzaMazzetti,yougettheurgetotelltheworldabouther.Herlifeisthestoryofthe20thcentury,butitisalsothevisionofaneternallittlegirlintothe1900’s.Oftheshortcentury,everythinganditsoppositehasbeenwritten,butLorenzawritestellsitinawaythatistotallyhers:thestoriesarebeautiful,andshetoo,isbeautiful.Thuswe have created a film, placing her in the foreground: she is the leading role, theactors comeby the nameof BernardoBertolucci, DavidGrieco andMalcolmMcDowell,andwedirectorshaveplacedourselvesattheserviceofthefilm’spurposeandobjective.AsJohnFordsaid:“Betweenhistoryandlegend,writelegend”.Wehavefoundthemselvesbeforeapersoninwhomhistoryandlegendcoincide.Andwehavetoldthestory inthisway.WithrespecttoJohnFord,asizeableadvantage.

SteveDellaCasaandFrancescoFrisari

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CONVERSATIONSWITHTHEDIRECTORSWhydidyouchosetotellthestoryofLorenzaMazzetti?

Steve Della Casa: «We met Lorenza two years ago at Hollywood Party, the Radio 3program,whenshecametopresenther latestbook“LondonDiary”. Ialreadyknewher,knewherbeautiful films,her fundamentalparticipation inFreeCinema,but I stillhadn’tgottoknowheramazingpersonalstory,andall thethingsshehaddonethroughouttheyears,beyondcinema.IwasdeeplystruckbyhowsherecountedherLondonadventures,andnotonlythat,Iwasamazedathowthesewereintertwinedwithallthehistoryofthe20thcentury,includingthatofcinema.Andthere,togetherwithFrancescocameabouttheideaofthisfilm,whichthenintobeingthroughthecollaborationwithTangramFilmandCarolinaLevi».

Francesco Frisari: «I met Lorenza for the first time also atHollywood Party, but unlikeSteve,Ididn’tknowherorherworks.However,Iwasabsolutelyinspiredbythatmeeting.Iwas capturedby the spontaneousway inwhich she takes you intoher almost fairy-taleworld,whereeverythinghasbeen,andispossible,andthelightnessofherconsiderationsandperceptionsinrespecttothetragediesofherlife.Ihaverecoveredallherworks,andIhavegottoknowheralwaysbetter,constructingarelationshipandafriendshipwithher,to understand how to best tell of her, and her story, and of course for my own greatpleasure».Andhowdidthefilmprojectdevelop?

Francesco Frisari: «We followed Lorenza inpresentations, publicmeetings, andwehavemet her a lot also in private, in her life with her twin sister Paola, made up of littlesquabblesandgreataffection,andwithsomanyofherfriends,andalwaysmoresurprisingencounters.Wegottoknoweachotherincreasinglybetter,andthusweunderstoodthatitwasinterestingtorecountnotonlyherstory,butalsothestoryoftheLorenzaoftoday,betweenRome,andtheplaces inTuscany,of theEinsteinFamily.Lorenzaalwayscarriesherstorieswithher,herinventions,andherpoetrytoo,andaboveallinherevery-daylife,revealedinagesture,observation,oraglance».

SteveDellaCasa:«Beforeshooting,welistenedasshetoldandre-toldhermanystories.Andeverytime,whatstoodoutwashermarvelouscapacitybringtolife,intothepresent,thatstory,allowingforevernewreflectionstoariseinus.Wethusunderstoodthatitwasher voice that was the be the narrating voice of the film. And so we involved threewitnesses,threeofLorenza’sfriends,whoacceptedthustoenhancethisstorywiththeiraddeddimensions:Bernardo Bertolucci, who has known Lorenza for over fifty years, restores to us thewonder of a womanwho has continually presented herself with a new art, and a newcreation,whetherfromcinema,toliterature,topainting.MalcolmMcDowell,tellsuswhatFreeCinemawasfortheBritishFilmScene inthe50’s,andforhimselfasayoungactor,andDavidGrieco,whoisasortofsonforLorenza,hastoldusabouttheiryearstogether,andofhisincrediblesurprisewhenhegottoknowofhertragicpast».

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It is a film which, beyond your footage, also makes use of archive images andanimations.Howhaveyouusedthesediversematerials?

SteveDellaCasa:«Lorenzaisinherselfamulti-mediaartist,andnotbychance,shebeganwithcinema,which in the1900’swas theartofarts, includingeverything inaUniversalLanguage.Andsowehave tried to incorporateall thevariousvoicingsofher languages.First of all, we used Lorenza’s films, due also to the pleasure of showing both “K” and“Together”, which unfortunately have been seen by few, and which we hope will nowreceive increasing attention. Thanks then to the collaboration with the British FilmInstitute,wewereabletoincludeinthestory,imagesfromotherfilmsofFreeCinema,toillustrate the forceof thatmovement,notonlymilitant,as somecritics sustain,butalsoilluminating the will to live, and to enjoy themselves, of the working class, capable ofexpressingthedesireforanewfreedom.”».

FrancescoFrisari:«Andthen,allLorenza’screationspeaksofher,directly,likeherbooks,and thenmore indirectly in her films, which in fact, we have sought to associatemoreexplicitlywithwhat happened to her. Immersing ourselves in hermany books, and herfilms,herpaintingswereanfurtherdiscoverywhichwesawonlyashorttimeaftergettingtoknowher.Lorenzahasalwayspaintedwiththedreaminggazeofchildhood,thestoryofthewhole Einstein family, just like the protagonists of Free Cinema, andwe decided todelicatelyanimatethese images instopmotion,becausethesetwobelongtoherworld,alwaysalittlemagical.».

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THEFREECINEMAofSteveDELLACASA

«Togetherisapoet’sfilm.Itsmethodissecret,intuitive,visionary».

GavinLambert,SightandSoundThe FreeCinemawasofficially foundedon the5thof February, 1956,with theNationalFilmTheatrescreeningsofvariousworksdirectedbyLindsayAnderson,TonyRichardson,KarelReiszandItaly’sLorenzaMazzetti.Rightfromthefirstprojection,(whichwasdefinedbythesameauthorsasa“Manifesto”ofanewtrend),thenewnesswasevident,theoriginalityandthevalueproposedbythesefour young debutants. The cinema that they were advocating was a cinema not only“free”,butalsooppositeandantagonisttotheBritishmediaproduction,characterizedupto that point by comedies, historical films, andwell packaged dramas, but – from theirpointofview–repetitive,empty,impervioustowhatwasactuallygoingoninsociety.Thisstancewasnotanisolatedcase,butdevelopedintoaveritablepoliticalmovement,anaestheticandculturalrenewalwhichwastotouchbyspontaneousgerminationallofthemostimportantfilmindustries.InFrance,onetalksaboutthe“NouvelleVague”afterthegreat success in1959 inCannesof“Breathless”by Jean-LucGodard (writtenbyFrancoisTruffautandproducedbyClaudeChabrol,wholikethedirectorcameoutofmilitancyofthe Cahiers du Cinéma). In Germany at the beginning of the Sixties, the Oberhausenmanifestomarked the appearance on the scene of a group of very young film-makers,destinedforrenown.(Fassbinder,Wenders,Herzog,Kluge).In theUnited States the group of film-makers promoted by the Village Voicemagazine,gaverisetotheNewAmericanCinema,whichwouldinvolvedirectorssuchasCassavetes,artists likeWarhol and critics, such asMekas. In JapanNagisa Oshima in 1960 directed“NightandFog”inJapan,amilitantfilmwhichinturnmarkedabreakwiththerealityofJapanesecinemauptothatpoint,whileinBrazil,theCinemaNovoofGlauberRochatoldof the contradictions of a country in the grips of revolutionary tensions and a ferociousmilitarydictatorship.TheSovietBlocktoowasundergoingmajor innovationswhichwereproducing new writers, aware of the “thaw” being encouraged by the Soviet PresidentKruscev, proposing new authors such as Tarkowski and Klimov (In the Soviet Union),PolanskiandSkkolimov(InPoland),Jancso(Hungary),Forman(Czechoslovakia).And the FreeCinema, anticipatedall of this “NewWave”whichwas to characterize theSixtiesinalltheworld,notonlytemporarily.Whileelsewheretheyweretheorizingstillinthemagazines(theessaysofJonasMekasintheVillageVoice,thefamousandhard-hittingarticlebyFrançoisTruffaut“AgainstDaddy’sCinema”),inLondonagroupofscholarsandfilm-lovers had already passed to the other side of the film-camera. And above all,providingakindoflitmus-testforamuchwiderculturalmovement.Thefilm-makersoftheFreeCinemahadfrequentcontactwiththe“angryyoungmen”,whointhosesameyears

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were proposing a new theater, and also with the musicians who are proposing a newrelationshipwithmusic.AlmostalltheNewCinemawhichcharacterizedtheBritishSixties,confronted itself inthe ideasandteachingsoftheAuthorsofFreeCinema:fromRichardLester (the director who was to bring the Beatles to the screen in complex films, verydifferent frommany contemporary films destined for the Youth) to Joseph Losey (whobecame British after having been distanced fromHollywood at the time of the “Witch-Hunts”),uptoactressesandactorssuchasVanessaRedgrave,JulieChristie,AlbertFinneyandRichardBurton.TheFreeCinemahadnoprecise rulesbut requires from thosewhoapproach it, the fullartisticandmoralreadinessto“tell itas it is”.Thischoice involvesthechoiceofsubject,butalsoimposesalessrigidscreenplay(the“iron”script,hadalwaysbeenacornerstonefeatureofBritishCinema.)availabletobediscussedonthesetbytheactors.Andthisrequiredalesstechnicalandtheatricalinterpretationfromtheactors,andmoreadherence to the characters (above all the “popular” characters) they are called on torepresent. The irony (anotherwidespread feature of British Cinema) had to less “good-natured”,andinsteadassumecorrosiveaspects,tobecomeanaddedweaponinridiculingtheBourgeoisandVictorianwayoflifeperpetuatedthroughthegenerationsthankstotheCinema.PerhapsthemostfamousandmostaccomplishedfilmoftheFreeCinemaisnotbychance“Morgan, Barking Mad” (England 1966) by Karel Reisz, a merciless satire from theintellectualworld,andaforerunneroftheyouthrevoltrecountedinanalmostpropheticwaybytheothercornerstoneofthegenre,“If”byLindsayAnderson,wasreleasednotbychance in 1968 when the aesthetic revolt, and public upheaval seemed to be merginginseparably.

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LORENZAMAZZETTI

«RarelyhaveIsovoraciouslyenjoyedmyselfasreading“TheSkyisFalling”:thesamejoythatIexperiencedwhenIreadGianBurrasca’sjournal.Itissuchanewtakeonhowto

recountthestoriesoffascismandthewar!».FedericoFellini

Filmography

IMISTERIDIROMA(THEMYSTERIESOFROME)(1963,Italy),collectivedirectioncoordinatedbyCesareZavattiniL'EDUCAZIONESESSUALEDEIFIGLI(THESEXUALEDUCATIONOFCHILDREN)-ep.diLEITALIANEEL'AMORE(1961,Italy)TOGETHER(1956,UK)K(1953,UK)Bibliography

Ilcielocade(TheSkyFalls)(1961,GarzantiEditore-1993,SellerioEditore)Conrabbia(WithAnger)(1963,GarzantiEditore)Uccidiilpadreelamadre(TokillaFatherandMother)(1969,GarzantiEditore)Illatooscuro(TheDarkSide),acollectionofmaterialin“VieNuove”inresponsetolettersfromreadersaskingforpsychoanalyticadvice(1969,TindaloEditore)Ilteatrodell'io:l'onirodramma.Ibambinidrammatizzanoascuolailorosogni(Childrenatschooldramatizetheirdreams)(1975,GuaraldiEditore)Diariolondinese(LondonDiary)(2014,SellerioEditore)

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Thedirectors,STEVEDELLACASAandFRANCESCOFRISARISTEVEDELLACASA(25/05/1953,Turin)AFilmCritic,oneofthefoundersoftheTurinFilmFestival(1982),ofwhichhewasArtisticDirectorfrom1999to2002,thenArtisticDirectoroftheRomaFictionFest(2007–2013),presidentoftheEuropeanCoordinationofFilmFestivals(1998–2002),andoftheTorinoPiemonte Film Commission. Since 1994 he has been the author and voice of the radioprogram Hollywood Party of RaiRadio3. He has directed television transmissions anddocumentariesofFilmCulture.Filmography

ITARANTINIANI(2013,Italy)-documentaryDirectionbySteveDellaCasaandMaurizioTedeschiWinneroftheNastrid’Argento2014

FLAIANO-ILMEGLIOE’PASSATO(2010,Italy)-documentaryDirectionbySteveDellaCasaandGiancarloRolandi

VENEZIA’68(2008,Italy)-documentaryDirectionbySteveDellaCasaandAntonelloSarno

UOMINIFORTI(2006,Italy)-documentaryDirectionbySteveDellaCasa

COLPIDILUCE(2004,Italy)-documentaryDirectionbySteveDellaCasa,MatteoSpinola,FrancescaCalvelliFRANCESCOFRISARI(18/07/1981,Rome)Degree in Philosophy, andDoctorate in Aesthetics. Radio and Television author. For RaiRadio3hehascollaboratedwiththeprogramsFahrenheitandHollywoodParty,andmadenumerous radio documentaries. For Radio 3 he has worked for the program PaneQuotidiano,andispresentlyworkingforQuantestorie,andmakingdocumentaries.Filmography

ILVIAGGIODELLASISES–MONDIALIINBRASILE1950(THEJOURNEYOFSISES–WORLDCHAMPIONSHIPSINBRAZIL1950)(2011,Italy)-documentaryDirectedbyFrancescoFrisari

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OriginalMusic,RATCHEV&CARRATELLO

Stefano Ratchev and Mattia, made their debut in 2008 with “Pranzo di ferragosto” byGianniDiGregorio,the“LuigiDeLaurentis”prizefortheBestFirstFeatureworkinthe65thVenice Film Festival. In recent years theywrote the soundtrack of “Thomas” (Kim RossiStuart,2016),“TheIceForest”(ClaudioNoce,2014),“ASpecialDay”(FrancescaComencini,2012, incompetitionat the69thVeniceFilmFestival),“TheRedandtheBlue” (GiuseppePiccioni,2012),“TheFirstintheList”(RoanJohnson,2011).Theyarethemusicwritersforthe tv series “I delitti del BarLume” (Sky, 2013-2016) and of numerous short-films anddocumentaries,amongwhich“Fuoristrada”byElisaAmoruso(2013)and“ANewFamily”bySimoneManetti(2014).

Editing,ALICEROFFINENGO

Alice Roffinengo, born in Turin, after graduating from Dams, she studied Editing at theScuole Civiche di Milan. Among her works: the Series “Fotografi” for Sky Arte, thedocumentaries “ANord Est” byMiloAdami and Luca Scivoletto, “Looking for Kadija” byFrancesco Ragnato, “Goodbye Darling I’m off to fight” by SimoneManetti and the film“QuestiGiorni!ByGiuseppePiccioni,incompetitionatthe73rdVeniceFilmFestival.

Screenplay,EMANUELADELMONACO

EmanuelaDelMonacowasborninRomewhereshelivesandworks.ShetookadegreeinCinemaHistoryattheUniversityofRomeandadiplomaattheNationalSchoolofCinema.She is a screenwriter and she has beenworking for fifteen yearswith themajor Italianproductioncompaniesfornationalbradcastings(RaiandMediaset).Shehaswrittenscriptsfortvseriesandtvmoviesforatotalofmorethan120hoursofprogrammingforprimetime.ShehasbeentwiceamongthefinalistoftheFrancoSolinasScrenwriter’sPrice(1997and2012).

Production,TANGRAMFILM

Tangram Film is a Film Production Company founded in 1981 by Roberto Levi, whoseobjectiveistodevelop,produce,andco-producefilmsanddocumentariesofinternationalscope and creativity. Tangram Film has acquired to this day the solid reputation andprestigeofanInternationalProductionCompany,whilemaintainingintactthosequalitiesof craftsmanship, listening and elasticity, which have characterized and allowed for itsdevelopment.Among the titlesproducedbyTangramFilm in the courseof its history, are included “IlVentredell’Architetto(TheBellyoftheArchitect)”byPeterGreenaway,“IlGabbiano(TheSeagull)” by Marco Bellocchio, “Nelle tue mani (In Your Hands)” by Peter Del Monte,“Fuoristrada(OffRoadVehicle)”byElisaAmoruso,“IlGhettodiVenezia500AnnidiVita(TheVeniceGhetto500yearsofLife)”byEmanuelaGiordano.