Jury Member
"I studied architecture in Milan and originally wanted to work in showbusiness as a set decorator," reveals Italian juror Maurizio Nicchetti, whose latest comedy as a director, Luna e l'altra, is showing today (Kino 6, 13.30) in the public programme of the Italian cinema. "But I started working as an actor in Giorgio Strehler's Piccolo Teatro, particularly in pantomine. Then I began writing scripts for a cartoon studio run by Bruno Bozzetto - his Allegro ma non troppo was my first screen appearance. I was really interested in the cartoon as an international language; finally I made Rataplan, my own first feature as director, writer and actor in 1979."
It was a great success at Venice, which was then reviving. He has since made a further nine films, which picked up prizes at Moscow and Montreal and have delighted festival (and paying!) audiences around the world: "I think the most serious manner of speaking about a social problem is with a smile!," he says.
"I was a jury member at Vevey, where it was very emotional for me to be in the house of Chaplin. The cinema is a visual language and today there are a lot more possibilities of expression, not just with special effects, but putting the techniques to the service of a sentimental story, whether it is Forrest Gump or Titanic. My Luna e l'altra is the story of a woman who lost her shadow and in the cinema I can now show this, but it is still a very human story. From the very beginning, the cinema has relied on magic and we should continue to astonish the audience. But I don't understand why violence should be used to shock the public. I am not a moralist, but I think daily life is very hard and we can cry at the television, while cinema should use the language of fantasy." Phillip Bergson
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