22/09/2008

Michael Winterbottom is back at the San Sebastián Film Festival [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] with an intimate though not hermetic film. Genova [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] is the story of a family torn apart by mourning: to escape the pain caused by the death of his wife Marianne, Joe takes his daughters Kelly (16) and Mary (10) on a cathartic trip from Philadelphia to Genoa, Italy.

However, distance does not help abate their suffering, and fleeing from memories of Marianne is impossible. Her spirit accompanies them throughout the film, with a presence so strong that it influences the actions of little Mary, to whom she appears at night.

After the success at San Sebastián in 2004 of 9 Songs (Best Cinematography for Marcel Ziskind) and inclusion in the festival’s 2005 edition with A Cock and a Bull Story, Winterbottom is back in the Zinemaldia official competition. The cinema was packed for the screening of Genova, with a public that was amazed and awestruck throughout as the realism of this delicate, gentle film makes viewers forget they are watching fiction.

Produced by Andrew Eaton for Revolution Films and distributed internationally by Hanway Film, Genova is a wholly UK production, made with financing from the UK Film Council and shot on HD digital. Winterbottom confirms his penchant for continuous experimentation with a story whose genre may be hard to define, but which will not leave audiences indifferent.

(Translated from Italian)