Silvio Forever: "Autobiography" of an over-the-top man
"Making a wicked film about Berlusconi would’ve been too easy. Instead, we wanted to show the arc of a over-the-top figure, who speaks to the gut of the country like no one else, through irresistible episodes, for better or for worse". Thus explained Gian Antonio Stella following the press screening of Silvio Forever, the unauthorized “autobiography” of the controversial Italian prime minister, which Stella co-scripted with Sergio Rizzo.
The film was conceived by the two most renowned journalists of Italian daily Corriere della Sera and was co-directed by Roberto Faenza (I Viceré, The Days of Abandonment) and Filippo Macelloni. Using archive material, the film reconstructs the personal, entrepreneurial and political adventures of the man who has most influenced Italy history of the past several decades and is moreover, according to Rizzo, "One of the most people in the world".
A collage of filmed images, photographs and interviews from archives worldwide and the Internet, many of which have been seen many times over, Silvio Forever is unique in that it show Berlusconi using his own voice and is why it ultimately presents a rather sympathetic portrait of the prime minister.
"It’s not a hostile film,” said Faenza. "Many have been already been made, even abroad. It’s a comical portrait that wouldn’t have been possible with any other politician, because Berlusconi is a showman". Case in point: With microphone in hand, at a summit in Brussels, instead of speaking, Berlusconi sings.
The film also incorporates animation, photo-montage, telephone recordings and web videos "It’s a purely journalistic work," concluded Rizzo, "which will disappoint those expecting a controversial film, but will help people see things in a more objective light".
Produced by Ad Hoc Film and distributed by Andrea Occhipinti’s Lucky Red, Silvio Forever will be released domestically on March 25 on 100 screens.
Occhipinti says they are currently “closing negotiations with an important sales agent and will start [selling] in Cannes".
(Translated from Italian)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
