THE WAR OF THE VOLCANOES
La guerra dei vulcani
Production Todos Contentos Y Yo Tambien
Director Francesco Patierno
Written by Francesco Patierno, Chiara Laudani
Editing Renata Salvatore
Producer Clara Del Monaco
Lenght 52 minutes
In collaboration with RAICINEMA, CINECITTA' LUCE, CENTRO STUDI EOLIANO
Crowdfunding indiegogo.com/THE-WAR-OF-THE-VOLCANOES?a=309517&i=addr
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The story of the biggest jet-set love scandal of all times. Starring Roberto Rossellini, Ingrid Bergman, Anna Magnani and the mythical and primitive nature of the Aeolian Islands. The islands are at the same time the set for the movie “Vulcano” with Anna Magnani, who’s just been abandoned by Rossellini, and for the movie “Stromboli, Terra di Dio” that will lead to the artistic and love relationship between Bergman and Rossellini.
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The War of the Volcanoes is a documentary entirely based on the rich footage depicting the intense and dramatic love story between the world’s most famous actress (Ingrid Bergman), the most appreciated director by Hollywood of his time (Roberto Rossellini) and Italy’s most beloved actress (Anna Magnani).
In 1949 Rossellini is at the peak of his career and he shares his artistic and love life with Anna Magnani, a life made up of endless fights and skirmishes caused by their bad tempers. A love that would not last for long, as Fate has decided to meddle with it.
A letter sent by Ingrid Bergman, goddess and diva of the moment, to Minerva, Rossellini’s production company, doesn’t burn in the fire that destroys the whole production archive, and is delivered to Rossellini.
In her letter, Ingrid Bergman expresses all the admiration she has for the Master. At this point Rossellini, renowned ‘tombeur de femme’, makes his move: after cheating on her he abandons Anna Magnani and immediately after this he becomes the lover of the most admired diva of the ’50 : Ingrid Bergman.
Their love becomes official during the filming of the movie “Stromboli” of which Ingrid Bergman is the main star. Anna Magnani is furious and immediately starts planning her revenge. The weapon with which she will try to subdue and humiliate Rossellini, paying him back with same currency, is forged by destiny and has the shape of a movie called “Vulcano”. The production of both these movies will become a battle that will be fought in the post-war Aeolian Islands.
On the one side, Roberto Rossellini, the most admired and imitated director of the world, the original father of the Nouvelle Vague movement, on the other, Anna Magnani, the actress that has become a symbol for rebirth-seeking Italy. Between them, like a sharp wedge, Ingrid Bergman, quintessential diva, the greatest actress of the post-war period, a young Swedish mother who until that moment had represented moral integrity for a whole generation of Americans. When she meets Rossellini she is married to a man she doesn’t love, who controls and dominates her. Rossellini represents a way to escape from him. Moreover Bergman feels oppressed by the role that the American public opinion has built for her. The perfect mother, the strict Swedish girl, most brilliant actress of the american film industry, the abiding and devoted parent. This role contrasts with her human imperfections. Her trip to Italy and her arrival to Stromboli, will mirror her introspective journey. Living among the normal people, the ever-smiling inhabitants of Stromboli and girls who are the exact opposite of Hollywood actresses and women. On the island Ingrid, directed, loved and fascinated by the father of neorealism, will grow to become the character she interprets in “Stromboli” and while on the edge of the abyss, she decides to regain control of her life and her destiny. She will learn not to be ashamed of what she truly is and how to separate fiction from her real life. The changes she undergoes will in fact make her persona non grata in the eyes of “respectable” americans and will effectively end her career in Hollywood.
“The War of the Volcanoes” is a story of wrath, suffering and love and at the same time the story of Stromboli a God-forgotten land, that for the time of the filming becomes the centre of the world. Two colors reflect its primitive and mythical nature, the black of the volcano and of the sand and the red of the lava. A place with a strong identity, capable of destabilizing, of bearing the soul of our characters and to give them the strength they need to make courageous decisions.
“The War of the Volcanoes” tells a part of Italian and world cinema history, an intense and timeless story like the island where it takes place.
