04/09/2021 - VENICE 2021: In his film, the Italian director focuses on a group of teenagers, showing a side of Venice that normally remains hidden to outsiders

(© La Biennale di Venezia - Foto ASAC/Jacopo Salvi)

Set to the beats of Italian trap music, Yuri Ancarani's suggestive new film Atlantide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yuri Ancarani
interview: Yuri Ancarani and Marco Ale…
film profile] shows the dynamics between the teenagers living in and around the Venetian Lagoon. With nothing else to do all day, they cruise around in their motor boats, listening to music, organising races and experiencing their first loves. We spoke to the director, whose film was presented in the Orizzonti section of the Venice International Film Festival, about his fascination for the theme and how he developed the visual concept for the movie.

Cineuropa: How did the idea for the film arise?
Yuri Ancarani: There are always a lot of things that happen before I find the right moment and the right idea for a film. I saw this phenomenon of the young people and their boats in Venice for the first time around 15 years ago. When I asked for information, I always got the same answer: “It shouldn't exist.” The adults don't want it to be part of what outsiders see when they look at Venice. The “real” picture has to be the one that Woody Allen shows, a romantic one, soundtracked to Vivaldi and not trap music. Trap is obscene. It is obscene to hear it in front of the palaces of Venice. The youth belongs to this obscene world, and I wanted to look at it and show how this “wrong” picture of Venice looks. I think it is fascinating.

How did you do your research, and was it difficult to enter this world?
It was very difficult to gain access to it. It's always complex for an adult to communicate with adolescents. But there are no documents on which I could have relied, and so I had to make an effort and constantly gain the trust of the young people. One of the most important things was to show respect for their music. I had to show them that I didn't consider it to be trash. I remember when I was young, that adults also thought my music back then was trash. But it was the soundtrack to my life as much as trap is the soundtrack to this generation. Once I had shown them respect, a conversation was possible between us. I spent a lot of time with them, following them around from 2019-2021, waiting for things to happen to them, such as their romantic relationships.

How did you find your main protagonist?
Daniele looks incredible. When I saw him, I thought he had the face of a great actor. I think Italy has lost the capacity to produce great actors, since the level of well-being only generates good-looking men and women with no character on their faces. On the contrary, Daniele can convey emotions with a single look.

What is the position of the adults in this world?
Since I wanted to show the perspective of the adolescents, I wasn't interested in that of the adults. For the teenagers, adults do not exist. Their problems are not taken seriously by the grown-ups, and they get ridiculous answers to their questions. The adults are unaware that they are bad teachers and that they are creating the consequences that we see here, and which they despise.

How did you develop the visual concept of the film?
Well, everything was there from the start. The boats and their LED lights reflect off the buildings of the city and off the water. I wanted to recreate what I saw. And most importantly, I wanted to create something beautiful. We are not used to beautiful things any more. In the past, there was an effort to offer people beautiful things, such as buildings or fountains. But this kind of beauty makes people feel afraid. Nowadays, we are surrounded by shopping malls. The product, the advertisement, is beautiful. Beauty has nothing to do with culture any more; it might lead us away from the ideal of us being unconscious consumers. I want to fight this illness by showing the beauty in things as often as I can.