Experiencing Interruptions?

INSANIA

A man’s face , shading off and undefined is set in a dark and thin atmosphere; it is reflected in an old mirror; the man starts talking to an unknown entity ... it seems that a long, a too long time is passed, memories find it difficult to emerge and it’s so hard to visualize them. Then we are carried into an abandoned place that the carelessness of Men and the terrible power of Nature have destroyed, we are now in a new time dimension, where we meet a prostitute and a man, while being the extravagant and surreal goers in a foolish and disturbing place. A black leather décolleté’ shoe , lost somewhere, connects the man and the woman who, after having met, begin the search of the shoe, into the depths and intricate structures of what was an asylum for alienated / criminals. During the "journey" along endless corridors and large rooms that had previously given “hospitality” to patients affected by severe mental illnesses, the prostitute tells the man she has lost her shoe coming back from her "working day" . It follow fast sequences of another man, an unrecognizable man in black, who is following the couple in the labyrinth, more and more insistently and more and more closely. The continuous presence of the man makes the woman stressed. She is scared and, often, she tries to escape. During the last escape, the woman, bewildered and terrified, grabs the man's hand, pulls him, almost forcing him to follow her in a breathtaking ride, until they stop in an isolated corner of the building. Here, feeling isolated and safe, the two kiss passionately, in the prelude of a sweeping love story. Suddenly, the face of the man who had accompanied the prostitute changes into the features of the strange man in black who had before followed and frightened them. The terrified woman tries to defend herself with what is at the reach of her hands: it is with the long and pointed heel of her shoe that the prostitute stabs one of that fierce beast’s eye.
The man’s eye is bleeding; he is battered down and angry; he strangles the woman and, after a while, he turns away, leaving her in the dirt, among heaps of rubbish.
We’ll find again the man and the entity that had followed them, in the cell, before the old mirror that we had seen at the beginning of the story,. From their dialogues, we will understand that the two are the same person. (HE and HE OLD). Later another dialogue takes place between the man and the victim; it deals with the love lost, killed: "The fact is that things that are lost cannot be found anymore", acts the last consideration of the man. Everything seems to replicate itself in a temporal ellipse and HE is now conscious that he will have to repeat repeatedly the same sequence of acts and in the meantime, that he will never be able to go back. In the last attempt of the woman, to address the story to a different ending, the audience will be put in the position of considering that mental health and insanity are only separated by a thin membrane that is condemned to tear even in the presence of the most ordinary insult to the normality of everyday’s life.

  • Claudio Monzio Compagnoni - Director
    Director
  • Francesco Ciccone - DOP
    Director
  • Michele Mele - Music Director
    Director
  • Stefano Scaramuzzino
    Writer
  • Marina Polla de Luca
    Writer
  • BAIRES Production
    Producer
  • Laura Monaco
    Key Cast
  • Stefano Scaramuzzino
    Key Cast
  • Stefano Starna
    Key Cast
  • Francesco Ciccone
    CREW
  • Claudia Coppola (Costume Designer)
    CREW
  • Loredana Pensa (Photographer)
    CREW
  • Alessandro Aquilani (Script Consultant)
    CREW
  • Andrea PIcano (Focus Puller)
    CREW
  • Alessandro Di Mario (Gaffer)
    CREW
  • Fabio Iatonna (Key Grip)
    CREW
  • Sara Ziccardi (Video Assist)
    CREW
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    INSANIA
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Thriller, Drama
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 16, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    ProRes 422 BMPC 4k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Claudio Monzio Compagnoni - Director, Francesco Ciccone - DOP, Michele Mele - Music Director

Claudio Monzio Compagnoni (Rome 1954). Pathologist and lecturer of criminology. Since he was very young, was a devourer of films, spending his afternoons into the cinemas of the outskirts, while in summer, when schools were closed, he used to go to the open-air cinemas, or “arenas”, that were very popular in those years ; since when he was attending the Classic “Liceo”, corresponding to the British Grammar School, he was an enthusiastic lover of “art-house films” better known as “Essay movies”. In that period he developed a deep passion for the techniques of both photography and cinema: in the '80s, we find him following the screenwriting courses held by Leo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi and Ugo Pirro, and attempting in his early creations of “shorts” and feature films.
As a film and theater writer, he collaborated with some authors of noir and thriller books.
He was also Director of the staging in two theatrical productions : “La Serra” by H. Pinter, and the musical “Promised Land”.
He was Producer and Director of the first version in Roman dialect of Carlo Goldoni’s “The Fan” and Director of "The Lesson" by Ionesco. He also produced the first film of the “Life Recipes” series by Marcello Spoletini and the short film "Just forever" by D. Melani.
In recent years, from a both professional and cultural point of view, Mr Compagnoni has deeply studied the issues of abuses and violence against the most vulnerable people, along with the strong charge of violence against women (gender violence and homicides on women). He has understood that it is a must tackling such a sensitive issue, that are so devastating to those who suffer it. He is therefore trying to give his personal contribution, either in understanding the deeper reasons of that violence or trying to "imagine" new sceneries, that could be able to stimulate a reasoning and to elaborate new methods, so facing and "developing" a really effective project, in order to put an end to this "slaughter" that is endangering thousands and thousands of ever more defenseless subjects..

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