Private Project

The Choice of Staying

Damanhur is a community of spiritual researchers, who secretly built an underground temple in Northern Italy, recognized as the largest underground religious building in the world. The people of Damanhur consider themselves an independent nation, apart from Italy, although it is not recognised as such. Through the eyes of a young Swedish girl who came there to make a documentary and then decided to stay, "The Choice of Staying" tells the story of lights and shadows whitin the spiritual community, between the accusation of being a cult and the creation of an alternative possible society.

  • Mattia Mura
    Director
    Drew Nikonowicz - Notes from Anywhere; Chromoskopje
  • Formica Coriandolo
    Producer
  • Rebecka Carlen
    Key Cast
    "Celastrina Calea"
  • Alberto Martino
    Original Soundtrack
  • Giovanni Bottan
    Sound Design and Mixing
  • Roberta Donatini
    Graphic Designer
  • Alessandro Iacobino
    Motion Graphic Designer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    48 minutes 6 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    English, Italian, Other, Swedish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Jharkhand International Film Festival & Awards
    Ranchi
    India
    October 8, 2020
    World Premiere
    Best European Cinematography
  • Danubiusz Cinema
    Štúrovo
    Slovakia
    December 11, 2020
    Sloviakian Preview
Distribution Information
  • Films for change
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Video on Demand
    Country: New Zealand
    Rights: Video on Demand
  • Emera films
    Distributor
    Country: Italy
    Rights: Video on Demand, Free TV, Paid TV
Director Biography - Mattia Mura

Mattia Mura was born in Cecina, Tuscany, in 1992.

He began his artistic career at a very young age as a writer. His fantasy novel, "Liberando Lastlend", was written when he was only 13 years old.

From 2009 to 2013 he is the screenwriter, director and editor of every production (short movies and documentaries) made by Helix Pictures, an indipendent production which promotes Tuscany through video and storytelling.

In 2014 he graduated with 110 cum laude at the University La Sapienza of Rome. In 2015 he was awarded a scholarship and residency at Fabrica Research Centre. During the 3 years he spent there, he filmed the protests in Macedonia during the Colorful Revolution, the art of the american photographer Drew Nikonowicz and he started the project about the spiritual community of Damanhur. Since 2019 he is now a freelance documentary filmmaker based in Milan, Italy.

His works mainly focus on the limits (of life, of perception, of art, of geography...).

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