IT
Luca Marinelli and Alissa Jung were the stars of the special event that brought Paternal Leave to #Giffoni55. Written and directed by the german artist, the film stars her partner both on set and in real life, who plays the lead role of an absent father who discovers he has a teenage daughter while trying to hold his family together.
The Truffaut Hall welcomed the couple with great enthusiasm, which they returned with equal passion and generosity. “We’re having a wonderful time here at the Festival,” said the director. “Even just seeing the young people in the audience is beautiful. I’m happy, and I know they have the courage to ask us anything, with great love.”
The two, who hope to work together again in the future, tackled the project together over the course of its multi-year development. “Luca jokes,” continued Alissa Jung, “that I made the film with Jude Law in mind, but that’s not true—and besides, he’s too ‘old’ to play the lead in this story.”
“This journey,” as Marinelli calls it, “has been very intense. We built a mutual trust together, thanks to Alissa who gave us the space to express ourselves.”
One of the film’s strengths, according to the director, lies “in the female anger and strength, which are perceived differently from their male counterparts”. To the girls, I say: “Have the courage to show those sides of yourselves without losing your vulnerability and empathy. It can be healthy and open up new spaces. I put something of myself into this art without telling my life story. It’s about showing yourself and hiding at the same time.”
When a young juror asked him about his method, the actor replied: “I read the script and gather the emotions it gives me. The first read is always very emotional, and then personal ideas start to form. In this case, I talked a lot with Alissa during a month of rehearsals. On set, you have to trust the work you’ve done and create a blank page—just dive in, because so much comes from the moment, and you have to be present. Paternal Leave brought me back to things I had seen or felt. I had a suitcase full of memories to draw from.”