Three solitary characters in search of Shelter
"We wanted to see what would happen if, when coming back from trip, you brought something from the country you left behind,” says screenwriter Monica Rametta about the inspiration behind the Shelter [+see also:
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film profile], which screened to success at the 2006 Berlinale and is being released in Italy on January 18.
In Marco Simon Puccioni’s second feature, this “something" is an illegal immigrant (Mounir Ouadi) who stows away at the port of Tunis in the trunk of Anna (Maria de Medeiros) and Mara (Antonia Liskova)’s car and ultimately unsettles their lives.
"To me, shelter means home, work, family,” explains the director. "Which the three marginalized main characters all need".
The two actresses play a lesbian couple in the film and are more than credible in their roles. "I was afraid of being overly ridiculous, especially in the hysterical scenes", admits Liskova, winner of the Best Actress award at the latest Annecy Film Festival. "I didn’t think I was right for this film,” admits Portuguese star de Medeiros, "but then I worked on the [Italian] language and identified with the character".
Shelter is being distributed by Movimento Film on 20 screens.
(Translated from Italian)
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