17/10/2006

When the years pass in prison, they traverse several generations, acting like the sea air, which covers everything it touches with a strange layer of rust. And they suffocate vitality. This is the simile that inspired Alessandro Angelini to entitle his debut feature L’aria salata [+see also:
trailer
interview: Alessandro Angelini
film profile] (lit. “The Salt Air)”, in which he tells the story of a young prison educator and his father, incarcerated 20 years earlier and transferred, by chance, to the prison in which his works.

There has been no contact between the two, following an explicit family decision. Thus, father and son do not recognise each other, and it is only the prisoner’s personal file that reveals his identity to Fabio, who manages to get his father a free day. One day, then, is the time they have to build a relationship and rehabilitate someone who for Fabio has always been portrayed as a traitor and murderer. Choosing whether or not to pardon, accept or open up a possibility: Life can be turned upside down by much less.

This well-written and skilfully directed debut film follows a dual path. “On the one hand,” said the director (winner of the 2000 Turin Film Festival for his documentary Ragazzi del Ghana), “I wanted to relate how the physiognomy of the modern family has changed: it’s difficult to find the ‘normalcy’ as it was considered years ago. On the other, I was interested in presenting the world of prisons, where I worked as a volunteer”.

The film’s story and then screenplay immediately appealed to producer Donatella Botti of Bianca Film, as well as at RAI Cinema, which decided to co-produce the project, nevertheless keeping it at a low budget.

The few financial resources did not, however, hinder the cast (Giorgio Pasotti, Michela Cescon and Giorgio Colangeli) from giving their best and becoming passionate about a story judged to be humanely “exemplary in describing a difficult father-son relationship”.

International sales of L’aria salata are being handled by Pyramide International.

(Translated from Italian)