Private Project

THE RITE (dir. by Fabrizio Condino)

Every year the rite of killing the pig guarantees nourishment and sustenance to a peasant family in southern Italy.

  • Fabrizio Condino
    Director
  • Fabrizio Condino
    Writer
  • Fabrizio Condino
    Producer
  • Angelo Armentano
    Key Cast
    "the father "
  • Maria Bruno
    Key Cast
    "the mother "
  • Pietro Armentano
    Key Cast
    "the son "
  • Rosa Armentano
    Key Cast
    "the daughter "
  • Domenica Armentano
    Key Cast
    "the daughter "
  • Antonio La Camera
    Director of Photography
  • Fabrizio Condino
    Editor
  • Francesco Murano
    Sound recordist/Sound editor
  • Riccardo Marsana
    Mix
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Il Rito
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:66
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 43. Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival - Short Film Market Picks
    Clermont-Ferrand
    France
    February 1, 2021
  • 15. FICMUS - Festival Internacional de Cine de Montaña Ushuaia Shh
    Ushuaia
    Argentina
    August 24, 2021
    World Premiere
  • 5. Castelli Romani Film Festival Internazionale
    Frascati
    Italy
    October 27, 2021
  • 9. AS Film Festival
    Roma
    Italy
    November 20, 2021
  • 16. L’Europe Autour de l’Europe
    Paris
    France
    November 27, 2021
    France premiere
  • 26. Capri, Hollywood - The International Film Festival
    Capri
    Italy
    December 28, 2021
Distribution Information
  • Gargantua Film Distribution
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Fabrizio Condino

Born in Paola, Italy (1990), Fabrizio Condino graduated at “ACT Multimedia” and “Sentieri Selvaggi” cinema schools. He attended the preparatory course for directing at the national film school “Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia”. Among his works, “La Vita Sospesa” (2017), “Notturno” (2018), “Apnea” (2019), “Il Rito” (2021). His works were featured in the national newscast TG1’s film section “DoReCiakGulp”, directed by the film critic Vincenzo Mollica.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"The Rite" was born from the desire to portray one of the most important tradition of my land: Calabria. An ancient, almost primitive world, embalmed in time and immobile, but still alive... Sprinkling with power and magical suggestions. The family we see in the documentary, the Armentano family, lives on a farm on the edge of a small town, San Lorenzo Bellizzi. They constitute a living heritage of our culture. Thanks to the memory of our ancestors and their stories, they preserve the memory of the place where they live and its past. This family leads an existence that carries on with an essential lifestyle, tied to its roots, within a world that remains firmly clinging to its atavic traditions. Much of the life of the Armentanos relates to food, consumed for personal pleasure, but also for the passion of sharing and for the sense of belonging that all families living in the area have in common. The ritual of killing the pig (which takes place periodically) thus becomes a purely convivial moment where you laugh and joke, in an atmosphere of tranquility and peace. The death of the animal manages to bring life and rebirth within a family nucleus that is reinvigorated on the day that marks this event. What struck me most was how this strong - and in some ways the extremely cruel - gesture itself, inserted in such a context, acquires an almost mystical and purifying meaning for the life of all the members of the family. A feeling that covered the entire realization of the project and from which we let ourselves be influenced, being simple observers.