21/08/2020 - The Italian directors’s new documentary, playing in Competition in Venice, charts three years of travel in the Middle East to tell the stories and meet the characters involved in the conflict

The result of three years spent on the borders between Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Notturno [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile] is the new documentary by Gianfranco Rosi, who won the Golden Lion in Venice with Sacro GRA [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile], the Golden Bear Orso in Berlin and an Oscar nomination with Fire at Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile], and who now returns to the Competition at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

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“During three years of travel in the Middle East,” says Rosi, “I’ve encountered the people who live in war zones. I wanted to tell their stories, to talk about these characters, beyond the conflict. I stayed far from the front, but I went where people try to mend their existences. The echo of the war reaches the places I filmed, you can feel its oppressive presence, this weight so heavy that it prevents you from projecting yourself into the future. I tried to talk about the daily life of those who live along the border that separates life from hell.” Besides directing, Rosi also takes care of the cinematography and sound, while the editing is handled by Jacopo Quadri, with the collaboration of Fabrizio Federico.

Notturno is produced by Donatella Palermo for Stemal Entertainment and by Rosi for 21Uno Film with Rai Cinema, in co-production with French company Les Films D’Ici, with Arte France Cinéma, and with German company No Nation Films and Mizzi Stock Entertainment. The film received contributions from Dg Cinema e Audiovisivo – Mibact and the support of Eurimages, in association with Istituto Luce – Cinecittà. It will be distributed in Italy by 01 Distribution and in France by Météore Films. The Match Factory handles international sales, except for the United States, where it is entrusted to Submarine Entertainment/Submarine Deluxe.

(Translated from Italian)