04/09/2008

Ten years in the making, screenwriter-critic-filmmaker Stefano Tummolini’s independent feature debut One Day in a Life, the only Italian feature in Venice Days this year, screened to enthusiastic audiences today at Venice.

Tummolini wrote the screenplay with lead actor Antonio Merone, who plays Salvatore, a 40-something man who goes to the gay beach outside of Rome in the hopes of spending some quiet time alone. Instead, his day is invaded by a group of women, in particular Daniela (Lucia Mascino), and a young man (Francesco Grifoni) who force him to face up to painful memories of wounds that have yet to heal.

The film’s production quality and winsome cast of mostly theatre actors belies its €1,000 budget and the fact that it was shot in just seven days with a skeleton crew. Once the filmmakers had a rough cut on DVD they started making the rounds of local production companies, to no avail. Said Tummolini said: “A person adapts to working without any budget, but there shouldn’t be so much diffidence from Italian producers towards debut filmmakers.”

When a mutual colleague gave a copy of the DVD to Angelo Draicchio of Ripley’s Film, the remaining pieces finally fell into place. Draicchio saw the DVD late one night and “fell in love with it immediately,” he said. “I decided to take the film into my hands and called Stefano the next day.” The Italian production-distribution company then supplied the much-needed post-production funds.

The cast heaped praise on Tummolini and Merone, calling the even gruelling, bare-bones shoot great fun. Tiziana Avarista, who plays Daniela’s friend Eva, said: “It was easy for us because we had a real, and really good, screenplay to work from, which rarely exists in Italian cinema today.”

“For those of us who are not big names, who have spent the past 10-15 years working without this kind of recognition, today’s experience is extremely moving,” concluded Mascino.

Ripley’s Film is scheduled to be released in Italy by the end of November.