Italiano
Of the many new films of the Extra section of the RomeFilmFest, one that stands out in particular is the small, surprising Italian film La vera leggenda di Tony Vilar, the debut film by Giuseppe Gagliardi, a young director of short films, documentaries and videos who made a name for himself with Peperoni, winner of the Silver Sacher Award of the festival directed by Nanni Moretti.
The film was inspired by a true event: the life of Tony Vilar, one of South America’s most popular post-war singers, who became renowned in Latin America as an Italian star of melodic songs before disappearing for years. “The film is a mockumentary, but we were interested in uniting various subtexts, so that in some parts it becomes a road movie or a musical, and it is set among the Italians of Buenos Aires and New York”, said Gagliardi. “Actually, Tony Vilar is just a narrative pretence, we needed him in order to go on journey in search of Italians overseas. Vilar is a also a man who ‘made it’, who was very successful despite various difficulties. But the fleeting nature of fame is tied to having few certainties, which is why his life is symbolic. We wanted to push the stereotype of the Italian to the limits, not through the cardboard suitcase, but through other tics. Ultimately, throughout this story, in the ‘racial’ confrontation between various cultures, they are the innocent ones. The film was made on a truly low budget, and if that was a limitation from a material point of view, it nevertheless gave us immense artistic freedom. The film’s ‘poverty’ is also its virtue”.
On his performance as the singer-songwriter who sets out to find Vilar, actor (and film composer) Peppe Voltarelli added that, “it was important to study numerous ‘vintage’ details, such as the gesticulations, expressiveness and even the walk from back then. My character is bewildered, his search is above all a excuse to talk about the dream of singing, a dream that becomes reality and is simultaneously consumed, a symbol of the harshness and cruelty of the music industry. Giuseppe and I struck up a wonderful collaboration, we had fun on the set and we were free to go in whatever direction we wanted from a stylistic point of view as well”.
He is further enthusiastic on the RomeFilmFest: “Rome has created an interesting network, which is useful for meetings and exchanges of opinions. Besides being an economically successful event, it is above all culturally successful because it stretches beyond the ‘coattails’ of the publicly financed film industry.
The film was inspired by a true event: the life of Tony Vilar, one of South America’s most popular post-war singers, who became renowned in Latin America as an Italian star of melodic songs before disappearing for years. “The film is a mockumentary, but we were interested in uniting various subtexts, so that in some parts it becomes a road movie or a musical, and it is set among the Italians of Buenos Aires and New York”, said Gagliardi. “Actually, Tony Vilar is just a narrative pretence, we needed him in order to go on journey in search of Italians overseas. Vilar is a also a man who ‘made it’, who was very successful despite various difficulties. But the fleeting nature of fame is tied to having few certainties, which is why his life is symbolic. We wanted to push the stereotype of the Italian to the limits, not through the cardboard suitcase, but through other tics. Ultimately, throughout this story, in the ‘racial’ confrontation between various cultures, they are the innocent ones. The film was made on a truly low budget, and if that was a limitation from a material point of view, it nevertheless gave us immense artistic freedom. The film’s ‘poverty’ is also its virtue”.
On his performance as the singer-songwriter who sets out to find Vilar, actor (and film composer) Peppe Voltarelli added that, “it was important to study numerous ‘vintage’ details, such as the gesticulations, expressiveness and even the walk from back then. My character is bewildered, his search is above all a excuse to talk about the dream of singing, a dream that becomes reality and is simultaneously consumed, a symbol of the harshness and cruelty of the music industry. Giuseppe and I struck up a wonderful collaboration, we had fun on the set and we were free to go in whatever direction we wanted from a stylistic point of view as well”.
He is further enthusiastic on the RomeFilmFest: “Rome has created an interesting network, which is useful for meetings and exchanges of opinions. Besides being an economically successful event, it is above all culturally successful because it stretches beyond the ‘coattails’ of the publicly financed film industry.
 
