Experiencing Interruptions?

The umpteenth Birthday/L'ennesimo compleanno

The umpteenth Birthday speaks of the inclusiveness or "exclusiveness" - in the sense of feeling excluded - experienced by the elderly in today's society, a world which, because of its fast and technological pace, does not anymore seem to have either time or space for them. Even if, up until yesterday, they used to be the true protagonists of that society.
The story focuses on Maria, an elderly lady still in full possession of her mental faculties, bursting with energy and desire to look toward the future. It is her birthday, yet, as it often the case, she is going to spend the day by herself. And still, regardless her age, Maria would like to look toward the future, to make plans, to feel alive. And she wants to feel alive here and now, not in an undefined tomorrow. She wants to feel just like she felt when, as a young lady, she used to ride downhill on her a bicycle, hands up, while the wind would poke "into her underwear".
This is a story about old age as awareness of the self, regrets, weaknesses, fragility. A story about days marked by solitary meals, and filled by the silences of solitude. We will also get to know Stefano, whom Maria will introduce to us as her "friend": a refreshing and rejuvenating presence who, thanks to his "madness", proves able to rekindle sensations she feared to have lost forever.
This is going to be a journey between disenchantment and hope, between prose and poetry, between stairways that go up and down. In a word, a journey through life.

The short film was shot entirely in Umbria (Italy) in May 2021

  • Eleonora Cecconi
    Director
  • Eleonora Cecconi
    Writer
  • Alessandro Trionfetti, Produzioni dal Basso, ESP
    Producer
  • Stefano Galiotto
    Key Cast
    "Stefano"
  • Maria Annunziata Porcu
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
  • My dirty face/ Rio Sacro
    Musiche
  • Francesco Mengoni
    Montaggio
  • Giulio Catarinelli
    Direttore del suono
  • Roberto Costantini
    Operatore di ripresa
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    L'ennesimo compleanno
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 4, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    French, Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digitale
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Festival Perso Perugia Social Film Festival
    Perugia
    Italy
    October 6, 2021
    Premiere
    Selezione
  • Internazional Toronto Women Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 7, 2021
    Selezione
  • Montreal Indipendent Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 3, 2021
    Selection
  • Paris International Short Festival
    Paris
    December 31, 2021
    Finalist
  • Kansas Art House Festival
    Kansas
    United States
    October 30, 2022
    WINNER
  • Vienna International Film Award
    Austria
    October 30, 2022
    Finalist
Director Biography - Eleonora Cecconi

Graduated in literature and philosophy. I went on stage at the age of 4 and never got off. I studied theater until it became a profession as a director and as a teacher. I love cinema, music and all artistic languages that have a social function. When I have a project in mind, the first place I go to draw is the street, I stop, look at passers-by and steal from their attitudes. I believe in art as a cathartic and liberating force. This is my first film, my film debut!

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In working on the short film I tried to find a union and a fusion point between what I carry with me and within my theatrical experience and what is the language of cinema. There is a tribute to S. Beckett but also Kubrick and Chaplin's cinema: my muses.