Desiderio Sanzi

A documentary about the artist Desiderio, directed by Andrea Rotini. With the partecipation of Alessandro Riva, Chiara Canali, Francesco Santaniello. Texts and translations by Gemma Jalenti

In a nocturnal Cuba, lit only by the tiny lights of the cocuyos, the island’s DJs and electronic music producers become a living metaphor: like those glowing insects, they come alive at night, illuminating the city with their energy and restlessness. Cuba – Coocuyo Remix is a neorealist comedy that observes their everyday life without filters, moving between clichés and moments of truth, and transforming daily existence into a collective portrait. The film follows both the pioneers and the new generation of Cuba’s electronic music scene, showing how their dedication continues to shape the island’s nightlife culture, in a story where music gives way to the full force of reality.

I Like to Dream: The True Story of Felipe Cardeña (Short film), shot by the artist Desiderio, shows us Felipe, as a mime walking through the streets of Havana, through the cross-over testimonies of many people who knew or heard of him: street mimes like him, but also bartenders, street vendors, street people, as well as the famous Cuban writer Yoss, author of an essay on the artist. A hybrid film, halfway between the journalistic documentary and the dreamlike and symbolic reconstruction of the work of Cardeña, the film reconstructs Felipe’s passage through the streets of Havana, through witnesses, but also through Felipe’s performances (such as the large floral poster, with Che’s face, still hanging in a street in Old Havana), the suggestions of his works, his dreamlike atmospheres and colors.

A one-of-a-kind cinematographic experiment. A grotesque fairy tale, staged in the real lives of the characters. A completely self-produced movie, designed and directed by two visual artists, with the purpose of telling the tale of Artaserse, a retired worker, boxer, trainer and life-long painter. Everything is staged in an industrial, now decadent Terni; like a steel bay without the sea, here it's difficult to dream about becoming an artist. This movie is like a suburban western movie; the boxer and the painting dancing the communal square dance together, in life and death, the meeting-match between Artaserse and an allegorical and remorseless art world, and more generically, the battle of all the colorful characters, appearing throughout.

In the heart of a Europe ravaged by the Black Death, Andruccio, a young fugitive, leaves behind his village of Coccorone and embarks on a desperate journey to Triora, the legendary 'village of witches,' in search of a cure. Along the way, a mysterious companion guides him through a world teetering between reality and nightmare, where the line between life and death grows increasingly blurred. In this desolate and unsettling landscape, Andruccio confronts his deepest fears and the legends that shape his destiny. His journey becomes a spiritual battle, a quest for salvation that is not merely physical but profoundly existential. In a crescendo of emotional and visual tension, Andruccio will discover that true redemption lies not in evading death but in mastering the art of accepting it. A powerful and visceral drama that delves into the struggle for survival, the resilience of hope, and the courage to face the inevitable.

A voice actress divides her existence between the recording studio and her apartment, immersed in a profession built on synchronization, calibrated silences, and borrowed identities. When an almost imperceptible delay between voice and echo begins to fracture her routine, the domestic space starts to return something that should not exist.

The first Road Movie feature film made by the Italian artist Sanzi together with the Cuban Balboa is inspired by friendship, the island and the motorbike. The two artists used, for the first time in Cuba, the form of the Road Movie--the cinematic genre the plot of which is developed during a trip.

In the heart of a Europe ravaged by the Black Death, Andruccio, a young fugitive, leaves behind his village of Coccorone and embarks on a desperate journey to Triora, the legendary 'village of witches,' in search of a cure. Along the way, a mysterious companion guides him through a world teetering between reality and nightmare, where the line between life and death grows increasingly blurred. In this desolate and unsettling landscape, Andruccio confronts his deepest fears and the legends that shape his destiny. His journey becomes a spiritual battle, a quest for salvation that is not merely physical but profoundly existential. In a crescendo of emotional and visual tension, Andruccio will discover that true redemption lies not in evading death but in mastering the art of accepting it. A powerful and visceral drama that delves into the struggle for survival, the resilience of hope, and the courage to face the inevitable.

1346. The Black Death has arrived in Europe. Andruccio is fleeing his village Coccorone (Italy) in search of salvation. Among the woods and paths he meets a rather singular character who will accompany him to Triora, the 'village of witches', to find the cure. A metaphysical journey that will lead the protagonist to live a unique experience between dream and reality where death will become his travelling companion.