The Last Leaf, from the RIFF to movie theatres
- The low budget film, directed by Leonardo Frosina, which won best actress during the last edition of the Rome Independent Film Festival, is starting its tour through Italian movie theatres
It is rare for a low-budget, independent film to make it into movie theatres, so when it happens, it is only ever good news. This was the case for The Last Leaf [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Leonardo Frosina’s debut feature length film, which was presented in competition last April at the RIFF - Rome Independent Film Festival and was the winner of the best actress category for Giorgia Cardaci’s (photo) interpretation.
Produced by the young production house belonging to Josei di Barbara Bruni, Manila Mazzarini and Silvia Ricciardi, with support from the Lazio region and a budget of just €30,000, The Last Leaf is a subtle depiction of emotional lull. Zeno (Fabrizio Ferracane) and Rossana (Giorgia Cardaci) move to Rome for work reasons. He is a night security guard, she a musician. The two are already going through a crisis when they get to the city, but the change in location creates even more distance between them. Rossana loses her job and hides at home and Zeno spends his night immersed in his work together with his exuberant colleague Tom (Alfio Sorbello). One day, Ela (Romanian actress Kristina Cepraga), a young, foreign bartender turns up in Zeno’s nocturnal life. Meanwhile, Rossana discovers she is waiting for a baby. The birth will show that nothing comes to an end in relationships, but everything is in movement.
According to Frosina, the film seeks to tell “a kind of indolence which is becoming more and more common in relationships, also due to the precariousness of jobs and economic instability.” The film jumps between different moments in time, accelerates, slows down, films with a moving camera, narrow shots, colour contrasts. The director sought to make the music an element that would recall a dream-like dimension.
Selected in the last few months by Off plus Camera – The Independent Cinema International Festival in Krakow and at the Raindance Film Festival in London, The Last Leaf started its tour in Italian movie theatres yesterday. For a list of screenings, click here.
(Translated from Italian)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
