ITALIANO PER STRANIERI

In Venice, in a school that teaches Italian to foreigners, the students
have to describe the lives of their companions without asking them
any questions, only by observing them. Piet, a 22-year-old Dutchman,
lives in symbiosis with his cell phone; Lucy, a former English teacher,
dances the tango; Catherine, a beautiful American girl, is always
smiling. In the morning, they talk and write about each other. In the
evening, they are on their own in the city: the silence of Venice, along
with their elementary Italian, reveals their stories and their secrets.

“I made this film to relive my first few months in Italy. I had always
dreamed of being an author, maybe a director. I didn’t manage to
do it in English, I wasn’t able to finish anything. Years ago I wrote some
interesting short stories in Chinese. I find it easier to write in another
language, and to live in Taiwan. The voice inside each of us that always
says ‘No’ goes silent when you learn a second language. I couldn’t
return to Taiwan, so I chose Italian and Italy for my writing.”

regia, soggetto, sceneggiatura, fotografia, montaggio/director, story, screenplay, cinematography, film editing Brian Christopher Griffin
suono/sound Paolo Pegorari, Marcella Pastore, Margherita Pescetti
interpreti/cast Lucy Orszak, Piet Holtrigter, Catherine Salak, Alberto Bettin, Chas Payne, Elisa Fioravanti, Elisabetta Scarpa
produzione/production Istituto Europeo di Design - Venezia