In October, #Soggettiva investigates the work of Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, sharp observers of the transformations of contemporary Italy and meticulous explorers of human life, with a keen eye on complex historical and cognitive processes
On Saturday 5 October, the directors will be the protagonists of a conversation with Paolo Moretti after the screening of Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari, a documentary divided into three acts, each one on a single subject: animals, plants, stones.
BIOGRAPHY
Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti have presented their films at prestigious international festivals. They made their debut with I promessi sposi (2007), an ironic documentary about couples from different social backgrounds preparing to get married. In 2009, they presented Grandi Speranze, a perceptive portrait of young Italian entrepreneurship, at the Locarno Film Festival.
In 2011, they made Il castello, a contemplative, poetic work that won the jury prizes at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto and the Torino Film Festival. It was followed by Materia oscura (2013), selected for the Berlin Film Festival, and L’Infinita Fabbrica del Duomo (The Never Ending Factory of the Duomo, 2015), with which they returned to the Locarno Film Festival. In 2016, Spira Mirabilis was selected to compete at the Venice Film Festival.
Between 2018 and 2022, they made Blu, Guerra e pace, and Una giornata nell’archivio Piero Bottoni, about the utopian projects of one of Italy’s foremost architects. In their latest feature film, Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari (2024), selected for the Venice Film Festival, they reflect on pressing contemporary issues in three acts devoted to the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms.