The film “Female”, which is about the “‘Ndrangheta” at the Berlin Film Festival, from Cosenza

Rome – Directing the film based on the novel by Lirio Abate From Cosentino Francesco Costabile, It was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in the “Panorama” section and will arrive in Italian cinemas from February 17. The movie was shot in the Calabria Mountains. It tells the story of the ‘Ndrangheta Rosa Championship Newcomer Lina Siciliano is originally from Cariati and was raised in a family home in Cosenza. Lina was immediately recognized by the recorder “Rosa Kanhe”.

the plot

Rosa is a troubled and rebellious girl, who lives with her grandmother and uncle In a small town in Calabria between mountains and dry rivers. Her daily life is suddenly disturbed by something that comes out of her past, a shock that she is closely related to the mysterious death of her mother. when Rosa finds herself the victim of an inevitable fate He decides to betray his family and take revenge on his blood. But when this family is ‘Ndrangheta Every step can be fatal.

Director’s words

“All this comes from the investigative book Fimmine Ribelli by Lirio Abbate, from this text a theme was born, written by Abbate himself with director Edoardo De Angelis, it was he who engaged me and gave me the idea. Today I can say that Edoardo had great courage to assign such a complex film to a novice director. It was a risky move, not a imposed consequence, and I can only be grateful for it. The script was a few pages long but really full of anger and humanity, characters that instantly captured their emotional and subversive charge.

A story about crime from a point of view, a look, it’s all female

During the writing phase we were not inspired by a single news story, The film contains many stories and many voices, as well as Rosa’s voice It summarizes the dramatic experiences of many women. They are the rebellious females described by Abate (among them: Josie Pesci, Maria Concetta Caciola, Rosa Ferraro, Simonetta of Naples). Women who have the courage to separate from the ties of blood and honor rules of ‘Ndrangheta, The criminal organization that managed, above all, to build its empire on the most solid and exemplary foundations in the world: the family. If the ‘Ndrangheta is so strong today it is thanks to this structure and its strength. “Thus, the “female” is first and foremost a family story. Psychic fist, oppression, and domestic blackmail, the shadow of a past made of blood, are central elements in Rosa’s world.

“An act of love for my land”

And during the research phase specifically, the connection between that scientist and my experience was made. Born and raised in Calabria, A land left on the sidelines, often forgotten by the state. It is a land that you carry inside because it represents a state of mind, a way of being in the world. With this film I had the opportunity to look back, to my origins, it was an important step in building the emotional universe of the film and its visuals. “Female” despite the drama and violence that the events narrate, It is also a deed of love for my land, and a warning to the salvation of all women. By immersing myself in the human substance, while reading the trials and meeting with the women victims of the ‘Ndrangheta, I felt that this world belonged to me. Some stories resonate in our experience in a surprising way, amplified within us and transformed in the artistic process.

“Calabria shootings have always been my specialty”

I spent months traveling around the remote villages of the Calabrian hinterland, searching for faces, suggestions, and images that could give life to my film. A long search that was fundamental to understanding the kind of movie I wanted to make. Free myself from pure compensation Realistic and research in deeper areas, connecting with the traumatic experience lived by these womento make them realize the feeling of oppression and powerlessness, and to make this film first and foremost an intimate and irrational experience for the viewer.”