Articles by: Roberta Cutillo

The Italian Cultural Institute in New York hosted a conversation with movie industry power couple Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo on May 22nd as part of the “Fare Cinema” initiative launched by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anica and Istituto Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with the ASC to promote the various crafts behind the success of Italian - and global - cinema.

The conversation, moderated by journalist Maria Teresa Cometto, began with clips from the 2010 documentary “Dante Ferretti: Production Designer,” which retraces the Italian designer’s prosperous career, showing the films he has worked on, from Fellini’s “Medea” to Scorsese’s “Hugo,” one of the three films for which he and Lo Schiavo won an Oscar for Best Art Direction. (the other two are “The Aviator” and “Sweeney Todd’)

In the documentary, some of the biggest figures in Hollywood share their experiences working with Ferretti, including British screenwriter Terry Gilliam, with whom he worked on “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” (1988) and of course director Martin Scorsese, with whom Ferretti and Lo Schiavo have often worked.

“It’s a time capsule, the best work I’ve seen in my life,” Leonardo Di Caprio (who starred in several of those films) says about the set of “Gangs of New York.”

Ferretti speaks about working with Fellini, whom he describes as his “beacon,” who opened the doors into the movie industry for him by promoting him from Assistant to Production Designer on the set of Satyricon, after firing his boss. Ferretti has been working since he was 17 and estimates that he has done around 85 films, plus various Opera and theatre sets.

Lo Schiavo’s story is different: she was working as an interior decorator before making the switch to the movie industry. When asked why she explains that she was attracted to this world because it gave her the opportunity to work with different time periods, to be more versatile, creative. “It’s always a new challenge,” she says.

And by looking at their work, you can tell that they both love challenges. Though they are certainly very different, they share strong personalities, larger than life, just like the scenes they create. The assurance with which they have forged their way through the movie industry is remarkable, and it reveals itself in each of their interactions.

Ferretti describes himself as a maximalista and a megalomaniac (“just like Fellini.”) He expresses himself by using few words - mostly jokes - with the confidence of someone who knows he can let his work speak for him. His beautiful large sketches have been exhibited in some of the world’s most important art and design museums. “He was up in the MoMA for five months,” comments his wife. “Six,” he specifies, holding up his fingers.

Lo Schiavo, on the other hand, is much more loquacious. She commands attention and respect and quickly takes over the interview. It’s not surprising that she was able to impress Fellini to the point of obtaining an instant promotion from Assistant to Set Designer, just like her husband.

Her own self-assurance comes out in the way she approaches her work. She explains how her job can require taking on risks, like the time she had to furnish an entire villa (which had been owned by Ava Gardner) for “The Aviator”. “There was little money left because these were the last days of shooting, but the house was empty,” she explains. “But they wanted Ava Gardner’s house.” Through her contacts, she managed to get all that she needed “for almost nothing,” but everything had to go back in two days.

The couple describes working together as their “best time.” They never argue on set and always understand each other. It took a while for them to start working together though. Apparently, Ferretti was very resistant to the idea. Finally he accepted, believing that she would soon grow tired and give up.

“I had to start from the bottom. Dante didn’t introduce me to anyone,” she recounts. But, just like his, her success seemed unavoidable. Last March, she received the prestigious Special David di Donatello Award for her extraordinary career.

A montage of some of their most iconic films emphasizes their incredible talent and versatility: how they are able to create worlds in such incredible detail that it blurs the confines of the screen and you get transported inside it.

Their sets manage to visually convey multisensorial and even emotional atmospheres: In Fellini’s “E la Nave Va” you can immediately grasp the contrast between the upper and lower classes crossing the Atlantic at the turn of the century.

In some cases, the sets and costumes are what make the movie. This is true of Terry Gilliam’s “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” a film that is extremely over the top in the most exquisite and beautiful way, where objects and layout are as much a part of the narrative as any dialog.

When asked about experiencing regrets when rewatching a film, Lo Schiavo answers that she always wants to add something up until the very end but that ultimately her job is done when shooting begins. “I don’t usually rewatch the films I work on, but seeing these clips now I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve done,” she says.

But this doesn’t mean the Ferretti-Lo Schiavo power couple is done making films. They are now working on another Scorsese film starring De Caprio and De Niro titled “Killers of the Flying Moon,” for which filming is set to begin this Summer.

Class of 1992, born and raised in the periphery of Milan, the son of an Italian mother and Egyptian father, Alessandro Mahmoud - a.k.a Mahmood - already made headlines in Italy after winning the latest edition of the Sanremo Music Festival in February 2019, a result that did not please everyone.

His single “Soldi,” with which he chose to compete at both Sanremo and this year’s Eurovision Song Contest held in Tel Aviv, was a huge hit, earning platinum status, reaching number one position in all Italian charts, and even making it to the Spotify Global Top 50. However, certain people - most notably Italian Vice Prime Minister Matteo Salvini - were unsatisfied by his victory at Sanremo.

“Mahmood …mah…the most beautiful Italian song? I would have chosen #Ultimo,” tweeted Salvini during the finale. Unsurprisingly, the Minister took issue with the singer’s “pedigree”: he didn’t deem him Italian enough to win an Italian song contest, no matter the fact that Mahmood is indeed a citizen, born and raised in Italy, and even sings in Italian.

Not wishing to be left out of the discussion, (politicians get ‘FOMO’ too) Italy’s other Vice Prime Minister, Luigi Di Maio from the Five Star Movement, chimed in by commenting that Mahmood’s victory only represented the opinion of the country’s “radical chic” elites which made up the jury and not that of the people, a tricky statement to support considering the widespread popularity of his music.

Despite these and several other negative reactions, Mahmood was chosen to represent Italy in this year’s Eurovision, an annual competition between mostly (but not exclusively) European countries. Since Italy was one of the seven countries present for the first ever Eurovision in 1956, it is one of the "Big Five" countries that automatically qualify for the final.

The Milanese singer was one of the favored candidates for this year’s edition, but in the end the award went to Netherlands contestant Duncan Laurence and his romantic ballade “Arcade.”

“I don’t feel any disappointment nor remorse,” comments Mahmood, “this has been the biggest success in my career so far.” Beyond scoring second place, the 27-year-old also took home the Composer Award, something which is particularly remarkable considering that he is one of the few contestants who chose to sing in a language other than English. “They told me that it’s the first time an Italian song wins this award,” he explains.

“Soldi” is a catchy Trap / Hip Hop / Pop track, with influences from traditional Arabic music. The video’s aesthetic matches the singer’s personal urban minimalist style, hip but understated. It’s an autobiographical song about growing up in the periphery of Milan and focuses particularly on his difficult relationship with his father, whose main preoccupation was money (soldi). It features one line in Arabic “Waladi waladi habibi ta’aleena” (my son, my son, darling, come over here) and is the fourth song in the history of Eurovision to include the language.

This 64th edition of the contest has been a particularly politicized one. An international pro-Palestinian campaign urged artists and the public to boycott the event before it even began. No contestants did however drop out of the show. Madonna’s guest performance then featured two dancers flashing both the Palestinian and Israeli flags, breaking Eurovision rules. Even more controversial was Icelandic Techno Punk group Hatari, who held up Palestinian flags at the end of their performance and might now have to “face consequences”.

So far, despite the provocations of various Italian politicians, Mahmood has (wisely) abstained from engaging in political discussions, letting his music and his story speak for themselves.

Just as Milan is often described as a standout case amongst Italian cities, its Mayor Giuseppe (or “Beppe” to his friends and numerous Instagram followers) Sala can be considered an unusual politician, who appears to be generally beloved at a time in which politicians are generally not so well regarded.  

His intervention at NYU’s Casa Italiana was introduced by a short video of the institution’s founder and benefactor, the late Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò, herself a proud Milanese. In the clip, she talks about the reconstruction of Milan and particularly of La Scala, the famous Opera House, after World War II.

She underlines how, despite their poverty and lack of resources, citizens immediately got organized and began rebuilding the City and its symbols, actively contributing to its rebirth. Milan has more recently begun undergoing another rebirth, of which Mayor Sala is a major actor.

The City has in fact seen significant growth in various sectors in recent years, despite the difficult economic situation in Italy and across Europe. Up until a few years ago, Milan was seen exclusively as an industrial city. It has since then begun an intensive and very effective rebranding process. Sala explains that they are working for a mixed model, promoting three key aspects:

They wish to present Milan as a university city, not a stretch considering that of its 4 million inhabitants, 200,000 are university students. And the goal is to increase this number, particularly by attracting more international students. One major challenge that the Mayor recognizes in this is the lack of affordable housing, something on which both the municipality and certain universities are working on, by envisioning campuses, for example.

Another important aspect is of course creativity: Milan is already known for fashion and (mostly furniture) design. The idea is to reinforce this perception and to expand it to represent a more contemporary and cross-disciplinary understanding of these creative fields.

And finally, tourism. In the past years, investments in culture, museums, and events such as the 2015 Milan Expo, (of which Sala was the CEO and Chairman) regarded as the turning point for the City, the symbol of its cultural rebirth, put Milan on the map as a central tourist destination, which now sees around 9 Million tourists each year.

Sustainability is also a key issue that all mayors have to deal with and one in which Milan has taken significant measures, by expanding the almost incredibly efficient metro system, (Sala promises that they are working on the fifth line which will take citizens from the airport to the city center in just 15 minutes) beginning to replace all busses with electrical ones, installing car, scooter, and bike sharing services, and implementing congestion charges and limiting traffic in the city center.

“As Mayor, it’s not easy to tell people they can’t use their car,” comments Sala, “but you have to show them that it’s the way of the future, that these measures have been agreed on with 40 major municipalities across the world.”

His is quite a daring approach, many cities, including New York, are considering measures to reduce waste and pollution, such as implementing congestion charges, or eliminating plastic bags, but often these plans are halted if they are deemed too unpopular and could threaten future elections.

Also daring given the current political situation in Italy, is Mayor Sala’s position on immigration. Along with other mayors, including Orlando (Palermo) and De Magistris (Naples) as well as others all over Europe and even here in the US, Sala goes against the anti-immigration approach sustained by the central government.

“Milan wants to promote solidarity,” he comments, adding that “in Italy, immigrants constitute 9% of the population, in Milan they are 20% and it works.” So the problem doesn’t lie in the number of migrants, but in the organization, in the way the system works.

According to Sala, the “solution” to immigration is creating work for everyone. The Italian government, however, is not embracing this approach. When immigrants arrive and are registered, they are put on a waiting list for two years to find work. In some cases, municipalities can try to take what should be the government’s role into their own hands. Sala cites an instance in which the CEO of Starbucks came to Milan to open a store there and he agreed on the condition that 5% of its employees be chosen amongst migrants waiting for their application to process.

Still on the theme of migration, the Mayor of Milan shares a story from his current US trip. “I went to visit the new museum on Liberty Island and asked how many ‘Sala’ were registered arriving through there,” he says. “There were about 2000. Then I asked: and how many ‘Salvini’? Over 250.”

Though it’s only a joke, this anecdote perfectly captures the absurdity and hypocrisy behind the nationalist and xenophobic approaches adopted by political leaders in Italy and across the world.

On May 11, during the opening week of the Venice Biennale, Venetians and visitors saw the North Laguna turn red for the trial run of the Red Regatta: a site-specific public artwork by American artist Melissa McGill.

Organized alongside Magazzino Italian Art Foundation and Venice’s Vela al Terzo Association, with the support of Mazzoleni and the participation of over 250 collaborators throughout the city, the project curated by Chiara Spangaro and managed by Marcella Ferrari consists of a Venetian “regata”, a race of traditional “vela al terzo” sailboats.

Only, for this occasion, the artist had each sail hand-painted a different shade of red. The result is a spectacular choreography; the different reds reflect and mix on the surface of the water, illuminating the Laguna and the city.

Red Regatta will take place on June 30 on the North Laguna, between the islands of San Servolo and Poveglia, then again on September 1st on the San Marco basin, as the opening to the annual Historical Regatta, and a final time on September 15 back in the initial location. These performances will be visible from different parts of the city, which can be found by consulting the interactive map on www.redregatta.org.

Melissa McGill is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in New York. Having lived in Venice from 1991 to 1993, she often returns to the Italian city and had previously created pieces that simultaneously celebrate its beauty and tradition and reflect upon the challenges it faces, such as her 2017 work “The Campi,” a series of sound sculptures invoking daily life in a Venetian “campo” (square) while also highlighting its precariousness as Venice is increasingly taken over by tourism and citizens forced to move out.

With Red Regatta, McGill wishes, on the one hand, to celebrate the Venetian tradition of the regattas as well as pay homage to the city's history; in fact, the color red can be found all throughout Venice, in its terracotta roofs, its flag, in the paintings of Titian, Tintoretto and other Venetian masters.

At the same time, the work is also intended to bring attention to the issue of climate change and particularly the melting of glaciers and rising of sea levels, which threaten the city and this very heritage.

The project is the first artwork to be registered as a “Clean Regatta,” the sustainability certification for water-based events created by Sailors for the Sea in order to mobilize navigators in protecting the sea through good practice and activism. Throughout the duration of the Biennale, the artist will participate in public talks and labs about art and activism alongside partners such as Ocean-Space and No Longer Empty.

Also important is the collaborative aspect of the work, which saw the participation of over 250 members of the local community and was conceived to involve and entertain the citizens and honor their love for Venice.

Red Regatta “will contribute to the maintenance, conservation, and restoration of the typical Venetian vessels (“vela al terzo” boats, e.d.) belonging to the Municipality,” commented City Commissioner Giovanni Giusto, then adding that this collaboration strengthens the bond between Venice and the United States, “This way the colors of Tintoretto, which are exhibited in the National Gallery of Art in DC, return to the Laguna.”