The world premiere of the Venice Film Festival “Critics’ Week” ended with the world premiere of Alessandro Rosellini’s film “I Was Born Rosellini” on Friday, September 11. In the second half of October, the film will be screened in almost 200 cinemas throughout Italy. The co-producers of the film are Latvian “VFS Films”. The film will be shown in Latvian cinemas next year.
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Italian director Roberto Rosellini was a rather complicated father to his children. His scandalous romance with women at the time (including Hollywood actress Ingrid Bergman) took over the front pages of newspapers and left behind a number of ethnically diverse descendants.
Alesandro, the director’s eldest grandson, has an uneven career as a photographer and a long history of drug addiction. Unable to keep up with the bar imposed by his grandfather-genius surname, he decides to make a film about the Rosellini saga at the age of 55, persevering and irony in gathering his famous relatives in front of an almost impossible family therapy camera.
“When I chose the title of the film, I wanted to pair it with a surname that went down in film history thanks to the revolutionary ideas of my grandfather, director Roberto Rosellini, but which has always been very troublesome to me. All the world’s syphilis still call my grandfather a prophet also with his extremely passionate private life.His talent and charisma attracted journalists, creating a huge media circus around him.Therefore, our family album includes both glossy photos and sensational film magazines, all of which had a profound effect on my life and the rest of Rosellini’s life. when Roberto Rosellini himself was no more.
Every family mythologizes its past, which is crowded with events and joys, sometimes wiping the most painful conflicts under the rug. In this sense, perhaps we, Rosellini, are a family hyperbole – glamorous, passionate and untrue. Perhaps the art of presenting ourselves in the best light is the only thing we have inherited from our grandfather’s genius.
This documentary is a personal attempt to show an open portrait of my big, hotly beloved and complicated family, “says director Alessandro Rosellini.
“Three years ago, Alessandro Rosellini came to the B & BFilm studio with a strange idea. He was convinced that his whole family was affected by a strange disease that only a few of his relatives could recognize. He had even given it the name” rosellinitis. “Its main symptom – the feeling of inadequacy inherent in the children of famous people, especially the children of a father who was able to be outstanding, domineering and absent at the same time. At the same time, he disarmedly acknowledged that he was in financial difficulties and that he thought it was finally his turn. ” to milk the family brand. ”Enchanted by his conflicting intentions, we embarked on an adventure.
What a nightmare! Three years of therapy – real, between us and Alessandro, as well as with many members of the Rosellini family scattered around the world. Three years of researching materials, digging into both family closets and the very expensive archives of American television and famous photographers. Countless trips to Alessandro’s uncles and aunts scattered around the world: in Italy, on a lonely island in Sweden, the USA and Qatar.
The first to believe in the film with us were “Rai Cinema” and Latvian co-producer Uldis Cekulis from “VFS Films”, then we were joined by the US production company “Sundance Productions” and the prestigious distributor “Cinephil”. We have finally come to the other end – tired, happy, fulfilled. Aware that we have had the great privilege of entering the life and history of a great family, without filters and directly, hand-guided by Alessandro Rosellini. We hope that this special family portrait can help us understand the dynamics of each family. Including our own, “says Raphael Brunetti, a producer from B & BFilm, about making the film.
From planning the film to finishing the editing, “I Was Born Rosellini,” we all had an emotionally fulfilling journey, especially during filming, getting to know almost the entire family scattered around the director’s world. I would like to emphasize that the film’s idea was first internationally with director Alessandro Two months later we all went on our first expedition to Danholmen and spent several days at Ingrida Bergmane’s house on a lonely island.
In August last year, in New York, the whole Rosellini family gathered in the studio of the famous fashion photographer Mark Seliger for a special photo session. It was another incredible idea of an Italian producer, which we all experienced together, and it found its place in the film. Well, in his autumn issue, the famous “Vogue” writes about the film and its characters: https://www.vogue.it/en/article/family-matters-the-rossellinis.
The film will also feature many unique, previously unpublished footage from the family’s film archives.
I am very pleased with the cohesive work of our team, the result of which we are now putting into the hands of spectators all over the world. In Latvia, we will probably see the film at the beginning of next year – with the hope that we will be able to bring one of the famous Rosellini families to Riga, “says the film’s producer Uldis Cekulis from” VFS Films “.
“This is a unique film – a co-production of Italy and Latvia, supported by the National Film Center. It is an intimate, emotional and also provocative work that looks at the brilliance and contradictions of the family of 20th century film classic, Italian neorealist director Roberto Rosellini. Isabella Rosellini, who is the daughter of the famous director and Hollywood icon Ingrida Bergmane, and other members of the Rosellini family have been filmed by Latvians – cameraman Valdis Celmins, film producer Uldis Cekulis, co-filmmaker Dāvis Sīmanis. It turns out that everything is right here – world cultural legends and Latvia’s most talented filmmakers. This feeling is really thrilling, as is the amazing film, “says Dita Rietuma, director of the National Film Center and film theorist.
The director of the film “I Was Born Rosellini” is Alesandro Rosellini, the grandson of the famous Italian film genius Roberto Rosellini, and the Latvian film team participated in its creation: producer Uldis Cekulis, the film’s main cameraman Valdis Celmins and co-author Dāvis Sīmanis. The film was color corrected by Krišs Roziņš, the graphic design was by Nauris Ašenkampfs from the studio “Jauda”. The film poster (attached) has also been created by Latvian artist Katrīna Vasilevska. On the Latvian side, the film was made with the support of the National Cinema Center.
It has already been reported that Venice Film Festival is the first event of this scale to take place in a pandemic. This year it takes place from 2 to 12 September.
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