Mario Piavoli

Fragments of a collaboration between director Franco Piavoli (The Blue Planet, The First Breath of Wind) and students of the Laboratory Making Cinema founded by Marco Bellocchio.

Set on an August afternoon in the Lombardy countryside, a family lingers around the table after a long summer meal. As the day stretches on, each member moves off to their own activities, quietly passing the hours.

A forerunner of Al Primo Soffio Di Vento. Observations along the riverside, the flow of water, the stasis of life, and the emergence of a teenager’s sexual desires.

The feast of St. Peter in a country village. The priest admonishes his parishioners to confess and be free of avarice, but after mass he invites them all to make merry. Outside the church the elderly villagers are the first to start dancing, while street artists entertain passers by and the kids fly around on brightly lit carousels. There is als an old man inside at home, an invalid in a wheelchair, a young man wandering lost in thought, while a lonely woman watches the cuddling couples. Every year in towns, villages and urban neighborhoods there are traditional feasts to celebrate the patron saint. They reflect a need for faith, conviviality and entertainment, but for some they also make the sense of solitude and apprehension even stronger. Share:

The film is the personal story of a protagonist of our times and traces Carlo Martini's actions and thoughts, as he has remained faithful to its vocation and ideals. Through dramatic events (terrorism, Tangentopoli, labor crisis, conflict, loneliness) Carlo Martini interpreted losses and concerns of the people, who saw a free man and a non dogmatic prince of the Gospel Church. Thanks to the authenticity of his testimony he has been a reference point for believers and non-believers, a prophet of hope, a forerunner of Pope Francis.

Visual ode to contemplative journey through the stages of life and the essence of human existence, set in a timeless backdrop of an Italian village.

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2004 documentary by Franco Piavoli based on correspondence between poets Alessandro Parronchi and Umberto Bellintani.

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Documentary about sustainable agriculture and food.

Throughout the seasons, the work of a farmer in his vegetable garden, from the seed to its fruit.

A zebu disappears while children are drawing it. They find it again in the woods. The notes of a harp accompany their multi-coloured joy. This short was made with children from a nursery school in Mantua. Playing with colours, the children seem to conquer the world.