06/04/2022 - Giulia Louise Steigerwalt takes her first steps behind the cameras with a fresh and well-written ensemble comedy whose actors are perfectly aligned with their parts

The quest for happiness, for authentic human relationships and for new beginnings, whether at 15, 40 or 60 years of age, is the red thread tying together the three stories told in Settembre [+see also:
trailer
film profile], actress/screenwriter Giulia Louise Steigerwalt’s brilliant directorial debut (having previously scooped the Italian Society of Authors and Editors’ Special Screenplay Prize at the 2019 Silver Ribbon Awards for The Champion [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leonardo D’Agostini
film profile] and An Almost Ordinary Summer [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) which was presented out of competition in a world premiere at the 13th Bif&st in Bari. It’s a fresh and well-written ensemble comedy whose actors are perfectly aligned with their parts, and which combines emotion and the painful irony of Italian-style comedy with a rigorous American-style narrative structure (Steigerwalt studied screenwriting at UCLA in Los Angeles and admits to being a big fan of American indie comedies), all in a well-balanced mix of light-heartedness and melancholy.

September is a month for new beginnings, and Maria, Francesca and Guglielmo need to feel alive (again) in their very own ways. Maria (Margherita Rebeggiani) is a reserved teen. The boy she likes has just asked her to go to bed with him. She accepts but isn’t sure where to start, so her school friend Sergio (Luca Nozzoli) offers to give her a few sex lessons, leading to a special friendship unfolding between the two of them. Sergio’s mother Francesca (Barbara Ronchi) learns she has a health issue but doesn’t feel the need to tell her husband Alberto (Andrea Sartoretti) about it, given that she’s been more or less invisible in his eyes for some time now. Francesca finds comfort in the arms of her best friend Debora (Thony), but their relationship soon blossoms into something new and unexpected. Francesca’s doctor Guglielmo (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is suffering some sort of post-divorce apathy and the only person he likes spending time with, at night, is young sex worker Ana (Croatia’s Tesa Litvan) who, for her part, is falling in love with her sweet-natured baker contemporary Matteo (Enrico Borello); this young woman’s capacity for dreaming, in spite of everything, rouses Guglielmo from his torpor and inspires him to change tack.

By way of writing which gets right to the heart of her characters (Steigerwalt’s screenplay was inspired by true stories told by people close to her, which she gathered over time) and a directorial approach which moves in close to her actors’ faces, to the point of revealing their defects (photography comes courtesy of Vladan Radovic, whose many works include The Traitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile], Sworn Virgin [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Laura Bispuri
film profile], I Can Quit Whenever I Want [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sydney Sibilia
film profile]), the neo-director weaves together these stories which would otherwise barely overlap. Stories which also draw out several wide smiles on account of the authentic dialogue and subtle performances they channel. A special mention should go to the Barbara Ronchi-Thony pairing, both of whom dazzle in all their scenes, and to young Tesa Litvan who’s the epitome of spontaneity and friendliness. Steigerwalt’s debut proves a wonderful surprise, both incredibly sophisticated and personal, light yet deep, and freely expressive. It’s one of those films which you advise your friends to go and see, if they want to enjoy themselves for a couple of hours, and which leave you keen to follow the director’s next move.

Settembre is produced by Matteo Rovere on behalf of Groenlandia in league with RAI Cinema. The film will be released in cinemas on 5 May, courtesy of 01 Distribution.

(Translated from Italian)