Private Project

Asphyxia (ver. 45 min ENG)

In the next future, Emily, Michael and Connor are forced to flee and take refuge in a mausoleum in ruins. They are led by a soldier, Ivan. From the headland we can see the half-ruined city. The refugees are preparing to set off to find their family members. Their memories waking and sleeping show us how they had to begin to live constantly with oxygen canisters and why they had to flee. A form of pollution, still unknown to all ordinary citizens, is multiplying its effects in the soil, in the water, in the air, and it’s starting to shake the skies. The Earth's crust is suffering and reacts taking away the lifeblood: oxygen.

  • Alessandra Angeli
    Director
  • Alessandra Angeli
    Writer
  • Alessandra Angeli
    Producer
  • Alessandra Angeli
    Key Cast
  • Alessandro Baccini
    Key Cast
  • Moreno Petroni
    Key Cast
  • Michael Segal
    Key Cast
  • Alessandra Angeli
    Editor
  • Giovanni Puliafito
    Music Composer
  • Andrea Pasqualetti
    Sound Design
  • Alessio Barzocchini
    Visual Effects
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Asphyxia
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    45 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 30, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    21:9:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Festival de Cannes, Short Film Corner
    Cannes
    France
    May 20, 2016
    southern France Première
  • Italian Chamber of Deputies, Camera dei Deputati, Palazzo Marini
    Montecitorio, Roma
    Italy
    Trailer preview / trailer in anteprima
  • Arena Cinema Castello
    Firenze
    Italy
    July 25, 2016
    Italy Première
  • ​LONDON MONTHLY FILM FESTIVAL, Trailer nominate
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 6, 2016
  • FILM COM DOWN UNDER, MOVIE MARATHON
    City of Pearth
    Australia
    September 12, 2016
    Australia Première
  • CELLOLE CORTO FILM FESTIVAL
    Cellole
    Italy
    October 2, 2016
  • MONTECATINI INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, ​INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
    Montecatini
    Italy
    October 6, 2016
  • ECOFILM FESTIVAL, INTERNATIONAL OFFICIAL SELECTION
    City of Mexico
    Mexico
    October 13, 2016
    Mexico Première
  • SANDPOINT FILM FESTIVAL
    Sandpoint
    United States
    November 5, 2016
    United States Prèmiere
  • TRIESTE SCIENCE+FICTION
    Trieste
    Italy
    November 6, 2016
  • THE GRINDHOUSE PLANET FILM FESTIVAL, nominee best trailer
    Leicester
    United Kingdom
    November 27, 2016
  • VISIONARIA SPECIAL PRIZE UNIVERSITY OF SIENA, FOOD & WATER
    Siena
    Italy
    November 19, 2016
  • SCREENING "LE MURATE, PROGETTI ARTE CONTEMPORANEA"
    Florence
    Italy
    November 12, 2016
  • LIVERPOOL FILM FESTIVAL / WIRRAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
    Liverpool, Wirral
    United Kingdom
    November 18, 2016
  • IVELISE CINEFESTIVAL
    Roma
    Italy
    December 1, 2016
  • Please visit the web site for all the others festivals, awards and screenings
    asphyxiafilm.weebly.com
Director Biography - Alessandra Angeli


Born in 1987, Angeli achieves the degree in Cinema in 2009. She starts acting as main character in many films and short films. In the last one, “A Reason to Fight”, she is leading actress and dancer, it is distributed in Italy by 30 Holding srl (DVD/home video), and an English version is ready to be deployed abroad. Asphyxia is her first film (45 minutes) as director and writer, after other experiences behind the set. Asphyxia has been presented with the film “A Reason to Fight” as film of cultural interest at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the première took place at the Festival de Cannes 2016, Short Film Corner Section, and this year won the award of best action movie for the Global Short Film Awards once more at Cannes.

Nata nel 1987, Angeli prende la laurea nel Cinema nel 2009. Inizia a recitare come protagonista per molti film e cortometraggi. Nell’ultimo film lungometraggio, Una Ragione per Combattere, è protagonista e ballerina; il film è distribuito in Italia dalla 30 Holding (DVD/home video) e una versione inglese è pronta per essere distribuita all’estero. Asphyxia è l’opera prima di Alessandra come autrice e regista, dopo varie esperienze maturate anche dietro il set. Asphyxia è stato presentato con “Una Ragione per Combattere” alla Camera dei Deputati, la prima è avvenuta al Festival de Cannes 2016, sezione Short Film Corner e a maggio 2017 è stato di nuovo a Cannes per essere premiato come best action movie per il Global Short Film Awards di New York.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The impending apocalypse caused by pollution is a very relevant theme at this historical moment. In a world where the ecosystem is considered a business and ecology a hobby, we let the earth fall hill. From the advent of industrialization, pollution is changing the climate, multiplying its effects in the soil, in the water, in the air. The earth’s crust is suffering and it reacts taking away the lifeblood: oxygen.
I wanted to put together a strong, original idea, which had not yet been seen in any movie, with my favorite genre, the catastrophic science fiction one. The genre suggests we’d undertake an impractical challenge for an independent troupe, but the idea came to me watching a video meant to raise awareness towards the environment: pollution is aggravated by deforestation and by the large amounts of CO2 emissions we put in the air every year.
So I combined my favorite genre with a theme very dear to me: the environment, with a practically invisible catastrophic idea and, if not likely to happen, or futuristic, actual already: the air pollution. I took to the extreme what could happen if we continue to ignore the various devastating events caused by pollution, warnings that give us worrying predictions about the future every day from all over the world, the whole placed in a post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
The problem had long been known to scientists. Now, perhaps too late, it is becoming the subject of increasingly pressing question of all governments. Slowly the problem is also affecting our sensitivity in everyday life. So my story has attracted the interest from professionals, semi-professionals, who have invested their time in order to produce something different.
The original idea of Asphyxia was different and much richer. I wrote a treatment for a feature film. Then I made an adaptation to shoot this low budget medium-length film.
The goal is to hit the spectator's sensitivity, not with the usual documentaries, but with five sci-fi action films, who entertain the audience and, at the same time, make one think through events that take inspiration from true reality.
Air (“Asphyxia”), Water (“Abyss”), Soil (“Antrum”), Fire (“Vulcano”), the Fifth Element (“The Big Crunch”), are the five elements which the saga or the TV series is based on.
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L’imminente apocalisse causata dall’inquinamento è un tema molto importante in questo momento storico. In un mondo dove l’ecosistema è considerato un business e l’ecologia un hobby, abbiamo lasciato che la terra si ammalasse. Dall’avvento dell’industrializzazione l’inquinamento sta cambiando le condizioni climatiche dell’atmosfera, moltiplicando i suoi effetti nella terra, nell’acqua, nell’aria. La crosta terrestre sta soffrendo e in “Asphyxia” reagisce togliendoci la linfa vitale: l’ossigeno.

Volevo combinare un’idea forte, originale, che non si fosse ancora vista in nessun film, insieme al mio genere preferito, quello fantascientifico-catastrofico. Il genere fa pensare a un’impresa impraticabile per una troupe indipendente. L’idea mi è venuta guardando un video di sensibilizzazione verso l’ambiente: l’inquinamento è aggravato dalle deforestazioni e dalle ingenti emissioni di CO2 che ogni anno immettiamo nell’aria.
Così ho combinato il mio genere preferito con un tema a me molto a cuore, quello dell’ambiente, e con un’idea catastrofica praticamente invisibile e, se non verosimile o futuristica, già attuale: quella dell’ inquinamento dell’aria. Ho portato alle estreme conseguenze quello che potrebbe succedere se continuassimo ad ignorare i vari accadimenti devastanti causati dall’inquinamento, sentori che ci avvisano già tutti i giorni da tutte le parti del mondo e che ci danno preoccupanti previsioni sul futuro, il tutto collocato in un’atmosfera post-apocalittica.
Il problema era già noto da molto tempo agli scienziati. Ora, forse non ancora troppo tardi, la questione è diventata argomento sempre più rilevante tra i governi. Lentamente il problema sta influenzando anche la nostra sensibilità nella vita di tutti i giorni.
L’obiettivo è quello di colpire la sensibilità dello spettatore, non con i soliti documentari, ma con un film d’azione fantascientifico, che intrattiene il pubblico e che allo stesso tempo lo fa riflettere con riferimenti ad accadimenti veri.

L’obbiettivo è quello di realizzare un film lungometraggio su questo tema, oltre al mediometraggio già esistente, e quello di girare un film per ogni elemento.
Aria ("Asphyxia"), Acqua (“Abyss”), Terra, Fuoco, e Il Quinto Elemento, sono i cinque elementi su cui la saga si basa, il tutto calato nel tema dell'inquinamento.