SICCITÀ

2022 / 97 min/ color

The direct inspiration for the new film by Paolo Virzì, one of Italy’s most acclaimed directors, was the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown experience. “At a time when the streets of our cities were deserted, and we were all locked up in our homes (…), it felt only natural to look ahead, wondering what our life would be like afterwards,” he argued. Virzì’s characters may be able to leave their Roman flats, but their daily lives are affected by another kind of plague. The Italian capital suffers from chronic water shortage: it hasn’t rained there for three years. In a city dying of thirst, primal instincts begin to surface and interpersonal relationships, even the seemingly closest ones, are put to a serious test. Featuring a whole gallery of peculiar characters, from an ex-convict to a taxi driver, a doctor, a tailor and a hydrology expert (the cast includes Italian film stars such as Silvio Orlando and Monica Bellucci), Virzì portrays a society in crisis. This irony-laden dystopia is not only a universal story about the modern human condition, but also a disturbing wake-up call showing the consequences of the real, emerging problem of availability of water, as a result of increasing climate change.

• Venice IFF – Pasinetti Award, Golden Drop Award (Special Mention), Soundtrack Stars Award