13/02/2006

Remember the 1980s? In particular, 1989, with its good and its bad: the Berlin Wall, Perestroika, yuppies, Dungeons and Dragons, the hole in the ozone, pregnancy tests, Duran Duran, Nanni Moretti’s Red Wood Pigeon (Palombella Rossa), Subbuteo, Star Wars, Like a Virgin. This and more makes its way into Notte prima degli esami [lit. "The Night Before Exams"), the debut feature targeted at the very young by screenwriter Fausto Brizzi, who has written a number of "Christmas" films for director Neri Parenti. Notte prima degli esami, which was produced by RAI Cinema and Fulvio Lucisano’s IIF with Gianandrea Pecorelli for Aurora Film, takes its inspiration from a song by singer/songwriter Antonello Venditti to create a "portrait of 18 year-olds from the 1980s", according to the director (who co-wrote the script with Marco Martani and Massimiliano Bruno). "It was a period when we used telephone booths and door buzzers, not text messages, to exchange messages of love. My references were films like Sapore di mare, La Boum and American Graffiti".

The cast of the film – which will be released on February 17 on 200 screens by 01 Distribution – includes the very young Nicolas Vaporidis, Cristiana Capotondi, Sarah Maestri, Andrea De Rosa, Chiara Mastalli and Eros Galbiati facing their graduation exams. After their trials and tribulations (which often rekindle all of our own worst nightmares), each character follows his or her own destiny, like at the end of Animal House, to become an eco-terrorist, a marriage counselor, a serial killer (the valedictorian), an EU Deputy (the class idiot), a desperate housewife, and a lousy businessman. The role of the teacher with a past as a 60s activist/dreamer is played by former comedic actor Giorgio Faletti, now a writer with the best-selling Io uccido, the rights to which have been acquired by David Cronenberg for an upcoming film.

(Translated from Italian)