Tell us a bit more about your background and your current work:
I’m an actress, and I work in TV, film, and theater. I studied in Milan at the Teatro Arsenale school and in Rome at the National Academy of Dramatic Art. Today, I spend most of my time moving around Italy between sets and theater productions. Sometimes, I’d like to stay more still, but I also really like that I get to experience places in Italy, sometimes totally unknown, that I would never have seen if I hadn’t ended up there for work.
Why did you choose to stay in Italy?
In the past, I’ve thought about studying abroad or starting my career elsewhere, but at the end of the day, I am in love with Italy, with how it’s so full and rich in culture. I’m in love with its unique and extraordinary characteristic of containing–in such a geographically small space–an almost infinite amount of traditions, dialects, customs, music, and foods. Italy is a difficult country in which to work in media, but, at the same time, it is a continuous source of inspiration. I cannot stay away.
What do you see for the future of the film industry in Italy?
The entire audiovisual industry is currently facing a moment of great difficulty, evidenced by the protests that have been occurring for months, high unemployment among workers, and a significant production halt. This is not a sudden crisis, but rather a consequence of major shortcomings by the State, which has issued decrees and funds to support the sector in recent years without monitoring progress and shortcomings, making choices that are neither specific nor competent.
Recently, it has been delaying the release of tax credit funds, although it is hoped that these funds will be unlocked by summer and productions can start. I firmly believe that if economic decisions were accompanied by artistic competence, if market calculations were followed by a human consideration of the art of storytelling and what needs to be told (see the extraordinary phenomenon of “C’è ancora domani” / “There’s Still Tomorrow”: initially snubbed by ministerial funds and later becoming a work of great social and cultural impact), cinema would truly be supported, and there would be much more public attendance in theaters.
What are the greatest obstacles and satisfactions that you face working in this country?
The biggest obstacles I encounter working in this country are, as mentioned above, primarily structural: being inside a system that is already poor and full of uncertainties increases the likelihood of failure and decreases concrete employment opportunities. The “uncomfortable” structure of cinema, which is naturally a competitive environment, is exacerbated by the lack of State support, so the stress is twofold and often there is no help among colleagues.
I get the greatest satisfaction when I find, instead, a community that wants to support each other, when there is teamwork on a set because you all want to create something beautiful together, when I meet people who know what they are doing and have an artistic vision. Art without collaboration with the Other (your fellow actors, your employer, the script writers, the runner who brings you to the set, the audience watching you) is unsustainable and infeasible–it simply cannot exist. Creativity is born from the encounter with otherness.
