Calopresti’s bouffe

by Camillo de Marco

25/10/2006 - Playing himself, Gerard Depardieu is the unexpected protagonist of a film made by five young filmmakers from Calabria, whose great passion for cinema will come up against Rome’s cynical film industry machine.

This is the central theme of Mimmo Calopresti’s new film, L’abbuffata (lit. “The Pig-Out”), shooting on which began last Monday in Rome and marks the return to the begin screen of the Italian director after his recent documentary on Auschwitz survivors, I Only Wanted to Live and four years after Happiness Costs Nothing.

After filming in Rome, the cast will travel to Calabria at the end of October for another four weeks of shooting, in Diamante and Scilla.

Calopresti’s film muse Valeria Bruni Tedeschi joins Depardieu, Diego Abatantuono, Donatella Finocchiaro, Paolo Briguglia, Nino Frassica and Lucia Ragni in the cast.

L’abbuffata, whose title seems an homage to the great Marco Ferreri (and his The Grand Bouffe), was made by Istituto Luce, Colorado Film, Dania Film and Gagè, with financing from the Calabria Region. It will be released in Italy next year by Istituto Luce.

(Translated from Italian)