ARSA, film by MASBEDO
The film marks the big-screen debut of Gala Zohar Martinucci, in the title role
with Jacopo Olmo Antinori, Giovanni Cannata, Luca Chikovani, Michele Sinisi, Maziar Firouzi, Matilde Schiaretta
and with Lino Musella and Tommaso Ragno
World Premiere: Friday, October 18, 2024, 5:00pm – Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome
on the occasion of the 19th edition of the Rome Film Fest, Freestyle Film section
Rome, October 9, 2024. MASBEDO return to the big screen with a new feature film, ARSA, which will be premiered at the 19th Rome Film Fest, in the Freestyle Film section, on Friday, October 18, 2024 at 5:00pm, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica.
The film – produced by Beatrice Bordone Bulgari‘s Eolo Film Productions, in partnership with Alción and RAI Cinema – is the second feature to be directed by the artistic duo composed of Nicolò Massazza (1973) and Iacopo Bedogni (1970), in the wake of their debut film, The Lack (2014), which was presented at the 71st Venice International Film Festival, in the Venice Auteur Days section, and subsequently at international festivals including the Reykjavik International Film Festival; CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival; Art Film Dubai; and at the Lincoln Center New York.
ARSA, for which the screenplay was created by the Italian writer Giorgio Vasta in collaboration with Masbedo, sees Gala Zohar Martinucci (2004) making her big-screen debut in the title role.
Arsa is an independent young woman, who since childhood has drawn from the well of her imagination. Her fragile yet robust character is in perfect harmony with the natural power of the island. Arsa’s solitude is not a refuge, but a creative force, a declaration if inner independence.
Through the lenses of her binoculars, Arsa looks at the life of the island flowing by as normal.
She is grieving over the death of her father (Lino Musella, 1980), an artist forced by the vicissitudes of life and by a cynical employer (Tommaso Ragno, 1967) to create “faux beautiful” statues, bending to the demands of consumerism. From him, and from the inner turmoil of his life, Arsa absorbs the beauty of monsters and the power of fairy tales. Having inherited his take on the world, she creates small sculptures in her workshop using the many “archeoplastic” (vintage waste) artifacts that she collects along the coast. Until, one day, Andrea (Jacopo Olmo Antinori, 1997) lands on the island, and turns her world upside down.
“Every image has been designed to offer a unique sensory experience, which encapsulates not only the spellbinding beauty of Stromboli, but also the inner worlds of the characters,” stress the directors. “The island, with its wild, powerful energy, is more than just the backdrop to the story: it is a living being, which breathes and evolves together with the characters, shaping their feelings and their challenges. The difficulties encountered during shooting added further depth to the figure of Arsa. She embodies resilience: like the island, she transforms every single thing, even the most difficult, into something new and vital. Her song – which gets lost amongst the waves – is an invitation for us to do the same.”
SYNOPSIS:
Arsa is aged eighteen or so. She is beautiful, introverted and wild. She lives alone in a run-down hovel overlooking the sea, somewhere on the edge of an island.
She moves confidently through this landscape, it is here that she has constructed her suspended world.
The rushes are the threshold between her space of solitude and the social life of the tourists, whom she watches from a distance. One day, three youngsters arrive on the island and rent a holiday home. All of a sudden, Arsa’s world is invaded. One of the kids, Andrea, in thrall to the enigmatic Arsa, tries to migrate into her world and discovers her disturbing desire…
Original title Arsa
Directed by MASBEDO
Cast Gala Zohar Martinucci, Jacopo Olmo Antinori, Tommaso Ragno, Lino Musella, Luca Chikovani, Giovanni Cannata, Michele Sinisi, Maziar Firouzi, Matilde Schiaretta
Assistant director Cinzia Castania, Genny Petrotta, Loredana Conte
Casting Nike Pirrone (U.I.C.D.)
Sound design Marco Saitta
Sound technician Simone Olivero Paolo Benvenuti
Original music Davide Tomat, G.U.P. Alcaro
Costumes Luigi Bonanno
Scenography Cesare Inzerillo, Nicola Sferruzza
Editing Jacopo ǫuadri
Photography Gherardo Gossi (CCS)
Story by Beatrice Bordone Bulgari MASBEDO
Giorgio Vasta
Screenplay Giorgio Vasta
MASBEDO
Producer Beatrice Bordone Bulgari
Executive producer Luca Bradamante
Production Eolo Film Productions, Alción, RAI Cinema
Genre Drama
Duration 94 minutes
Language Italian
Format 4,5 K
Projection format 2.39:1
File DCP
Country Italy
Year 2024
Press release from the Film Press Office Ornato Comunicazione, Lara Facco P&C.