Synopsis
This film was made in the same spirit and with the same imperative as Luigi Ghirri used in his own photography : see things as part of a greater whole and look at those things with a sense of emotional commitment. The feelings that Ghirri’s work instils in the onlooker are described by his friends and admirers, some of whom are on camera and some off. Much of this film was shot on location, with those friends and admirers providing the commentary against the backdrop of places which Guirri loved and which appear in his photography – Fontanellato near Parma, Gualtieri and Luzzara near Reggio Emilia and, above all, the river Po.
A word from Tënk
Gianni Celati, born in 1937, writer, translator of literary classics and here a film director, talks to us about Luigi Ghirri’s universe by exploring the spirit of locations in an attempt to study the form of things, to catch a glimpse of their most hidden point of view, just like Ghirri did through his photography. “The film” explains Celati himself, “adopts the way of seeing that Ghirri suggested to and taught us with his photographs, developing an environmental vision, which is an emotive way of looking at things.” With accounts from family and friends, the film illustrates the affection between Celati and Ghirri, and his desire to highlight lesser known aspects of the internationally renowned photographer, from his earliest photos to his love of Bob Dylan, from his everyday life to his way of being in the world.
Claudia Maci
Managing Director of Festival dei Popoli
