Celebrated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino offered a stark critique of Italy’s contemporary cinematic output at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, asserting that he felt compelled to produce Giovanni Tortorici’s latest coming-of-age drama, Ketticè, as a vital act of nurturing talent in what he described as a "sterile" Italian film landscape. Guadagnino, known for acclaimed works like Call Me By Your Name and Suspiria, used his platform not to discuss his anticipated OpenAI movie, Artificial, but to champion his former assistant, Tortorici, whose sophomore feature he sees as a hopeful counterpoint to an industry he believes has stagnated.
A Champion for Emerging Voices at Locarno
Guadagnino’s presence at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival, situated in Italian-speaking Switzerland, centered entirely on Ketticè. The film marks the second feature from writer-director Giovanni Tortorici, who previously worked under Guadagnino’s guidance. This mentorship underscores a broader industry discussion about the responsibility of established figures to foster new artistic voices, particularly in national cinemas facing structural challenges. The decision by a director of Guadagnino’s international stature to invest his producing capital and influence in a young filmmaker’s project sends a powerful message about the perceived quality and necessity of Tortorici’s work.
The Narrative Core of ‘Ketticè’
Ketticè is a coming-of-age drama set in Palermo, Sicily, in 2012, a period marked by the pervasive influence of media mogul-turned-politician Silvio Berlusconi. The film introduces Giulio, a disaffected 16-year-old grappling with listlessness, academic apathy, and a bleak outlook on his future prospects. His mundane existence is disrupted by Ketty, a more self-assured peer, with whom he forms an intense friendship. This bond becomes a "shared refuge," offering them an escape from the relentless monotony and the "judgmental gaze of the adult world." The film’s title, Ketticè, is derived from Ketty’s nickname in the Sicilian dialect, adding a layer of regional authenticity to the narrative. The cast features Salvatore Gallina and Rachele Testagrossa, with acclaimed actress Monica Bellucci in a supporting role as Giulio’s aristocratic Sicilian mother, depicted as feeling oppressed by her circumstances. Behind the camera, Camilla Cattabriga serves as cinematographer, with Marco Costa handling editing, and PiperPlay managing international sales, aiming to bring this distinct Italian story to a global audience.
Decades of Decline: The "Sterile" Italian Film Landscape
During his address to reporters, Guadagnino was directly questioned about the rich history of Italian cinema and whether his support for Tortorici’s film was an effort to preserve that legacy. His response was unequivocal. "Most definitely," he affirmed, launching into a detailed historical analysis of Italian filmmaking. He lauded the period from the silent era through the 1970s, describing it as a time that "generated some of the most important personalities in the history of cinema." Beyond individual genius, Guadagnino emphasized that the industry itself had forged "a system that was the envy of many other countries," characterized by the production of a wide array of diverse films. This golden age of Italian cinema, he suggested, was a vibrant ecosystem that fostered creativity across genres and styles, establishing Italy as a global powerhouse in film.
From Golden Age to Berlusconi’s Shadow
Guadagnino then pinpointed a pivotal moment of decline: "the advent of private TV and the Berlusconi empire." This shift, he argued, fundamentally altered the cultural and industrial fabric of Italian cinema. The proliferation of private television channels, largely controlled by Berlusconi’s Mediaset, led to a significant drying up of resources and creative avenues for film. What was once destined for the big screen increasingly became tailored for television consumption, blurring the lines between cinematic art and small-screen entertainment. This commercialization, Guadagnino contended, had profound and detrimental effects on the artistic output of the nation.
The Perils of Authorship and Genre Erasure
A critical casualty of this transformation, according to Guadagnino, was the demise of genre filmmaking. He observed a pervasive "pretension on authorship" that permeated the industry. Filmmakers, in their pursuit of defining themselves as "authors," often resorted to writing and shooting their own scripts, leading to a homogenous output. This insular approach, while rooted in a venerable tradition of auteur cinema, inadvertently led to a shrinking of creative horizons. The focus on individualistic visions, when divorced from a broader industrial ecosystem that supported diverse storytelling, resulted in a contraction of perspective. Ultimately, Guadagnino concluded, "the movie industry shrunk and the perspective shrunk and the cinema of Italy became sterile and totally devoid of an idea of language and of an idea of life." This pointed critique highlights a perceived lack of vitality, innovation, and engagement with the complexities of contemporary life within the national cinema.
Cultivating Authenticity in a Barren Field
For Guadagnino, Giovanni Tortorici represents a rare and crucial exception to this pervasive sterility. He described Tortorici as "a complete rarity in the landscape of Italian cinema" – a filmmaker whose vision transcends national boundaries, making him "a filmmaker, period." This recognition carries significant weight, signaling Tortorici’s potential to produce universally resonant work. Guadagnino stressed the imperative to "protect" such talent, asserting that "every stone is not left unturned in order to give him the means to express himself." His role as a producer for Ketticè is therefore not merely a financial or logistical one, but a strategic effort to cultivate a new generation of authentic storytellers.
A Pavement into the Future of Italian Cinema
Guadagnino views his patronage of films like Tortorici’s as laying "a pavement into the future" for Italian cinema. This vision extends beyond individual projects; it’s about fundamentally shifting the "mindset" within the industry. He elaborated on this crucial concept: "The mindset means how you do your stuff, what stories you want to tell, how you understand reality, how you interpret reality. How you run away from falseness is intoxicating for all its truth, all its incredible, vivid reality." This philosophy underscores a desire for cinema that is grounded in genuine observation, fearless in its portrayal of life, and committed to an authentic engagement with the world. As a producer, Guadagnino noted his preference to experience a film as an audience member. His assessment of Ketticè from this perspective was equally positive: "As an audience member, I feel the movie really speaks in a very universal way."
Giovanni Tortorici on Youth, Repression, and Reality
Giovanni Tortorici, the focus of Guadagnino’s fervent support, offered insights into the thematic underpinnings of Ketticè. He explained that his film delves into the pervasive failure of societal institutions—including school, family, and the state—to adequately support young people. Tortorici pointedly laid the blame on adults, stating, "I think the guilty ones are the adults." He attributed this failure to a "cultural context of the ultra-capitalist contest and a mediatic world," suggesting that modern societal structures and a pervasive media environment contribute to the disillusionment and repression experienced by youth. This perspective aligns with Guadagnino’s call for cinema that genuinely interprets reality and avoids falseness, offering a critical lens on contemporary social dynamics.
Beyond the Autobiographical: Exploring Societal Structures
Looking ahead, Tortorici discussed his cinematic future, particularly after two films, including Ketticè, that are autobiographically inspired. He expressed a desire to venture into narratives "very far from me" for his next project. His experiences while shooting Ketticè in Palermo proved transformative, as he encountered numerous individuals from challenging neighborhoods and difficult life circumstances. These interactions ignited a new passion: "I find in these stories the possibility to continuing to explore this struggle of young people with authorities." Tortorici highlighted the family as a particularly potent site of societal repression. "I think the big problem of society is the structure of, for example, the family," he explained. "I think family is the structure that [creates] the next repressed person." His future work, therefore, aims to broadly explore these "different experiences in all parts of society, family in particular," signaling a continued commitment to examining the intricate relationships between individuals, institutions, and the socio-cultural forces that shape human experience.
Reinvigorating Italian Cinema: A Call to Action
Guadagnino’s impassioned commentary at Locarno is more than just a promotional push for a new film; it serves as a significant cultural critique and a call to action for the Italian film industry. His remarks resonate beyond national borders, touching on universal challenges faced by national cinemas striving to maintain artistic integrity and diversity against the pressures of commercialization and globalized content. By openly identifying the "sterile Italian film landscape," Guadagnino places himself in a lineage of influential filmmakers who have used their platforms to advocate for the health and vitality of their artistic communities. His support for Tortorici is a tangible demonstration of his belief in the power of fresh perspectives to revitalize an industry he believes has lost its way.
The Universal Resonance of ‘Ketticè’
The themes explored in Ketticè—youth alienation, the search for freedom, and the failure of adult institutions—possess a universal resonance that transcends its specific Sicilian setting. In an increasingly complex global society, these narratives speak to widespread anxieties about the future of younger generations and the structures that often constrain them. The film’s potential to "speak in a very universal way," as Guadagnino observed, underscores the importance of supporting stories that critically engage with societal issues, regardless of their origin. Such films can spark crucial conversations and offer cinematic experiences that are both deeply personal and broadly relatable, proving that authenticity, as championed by Guadagnino, is indeed a universal language.
Charting a Course for Future Generations
The partnership between Luca Guadagnino and Giovanni Tortorici represents a critical juncture for Italian cinema, signaling a potential shift towards renewed artistic vigor and a more diverse range of storytelling. Guadagnino’s blunt assessment of the industry’s challenges, coupled with his active investment in new talent, highlights the crucial role that established figures can play in shaping the future. Tortorici’s commitment to exploring complex societal issues, particularly the struggles of youth within oppressive structures, offers a promising direction for a cinema seeking to reconnect with "an idea of language and of an idea of life." As Ketticè embarks on its journey, it carries the weight of these ambitions, serving not just as a film but as a potential blueprint for how a "sterile" landscape might yet blossom with new and vibrant narratives. The path forward for Italian cinema, as envisioned by Guadagnino, lies in fostering filmmakers who dare to interpret reality with vivid truth, forging a pavement into a more creatively fertile future.
