1994 - Wildside

Directed by

Giuseppe Gagliardi

Directed by

Giuseppe Gagliardi

Year

2019

Length

8x50”

Year

2019

Length

8x50”

Cast

Stefano Accorsi
Miriam Leone
Guido Caprino
Antonio Gerardi

Synopsis

In 1994, Italy changes forever: it’s the year of restoration. Leonardo Notte (Stefano Accorsi) knows this well: he has understood that conquering power is difficult, but maintaining it is truly an impossible mission. Just as it seems impossible for Pietro Bosco (Guido Caprino) to change: even now that he has an office at the Viminale, he cannot abandon his old flaws, nor can he forget the only woman he truly loved. Veronica Castello (Miriam Leone) must indeed decide who her life partner will be, but in the meantime, she realizes that she no longer wants to be just the woman of powerful men and thus begins to play the game for power firsthand, becoming a member of parliament. We will also find the Clean Hands prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro (Antonio Gerardi), who continues his battle, Silvio Berlusconi played by Paolo Pierobon, and Dario Scaglia (Giovanni Ludeno). With them also Maurizio Lombardi, already seen in 1992 and 1993 in the role of Paolo Pellegrini, Berlusconi’s man and new MP, who lives in adoration of the Knight.

Director's notes

We are at the end of the election campaign, the biggest marketing operation ever seen. Months of great enthusiasm. The campaign served to sell the impression that things were set up for change. 1994 is the year in which they tried to sell the new. Certainly not the different. It was essentially the reproduction of a pre-existing model. After the year of Revolution and that of Terror, therefore, the trilogy comes to completion with the story of the year of Restoration. We left Leo Notte agonizing on the ground, we find him in the afterlife of a television studio. It is the time when television and politics become one. That dystopian world prefigured in the 70s by Flaiano is realized: "In 30 years, Italy will not be as governments have made it, but as TV will have made it." The world of our characters. The one where the stakes for survival are always the same: power. In the new season, the concept is renewed. The multistrand narrative that intertwined the different stories of the characters transforms, and each episode acquires a different style and form. I tried to give a precise mark to each of the four episodes I directed (1, 2, 3, 5), changing the staging, tone, color palette, and music each time. It moves from the claustrophobic environments of a political thriller in the first episode to the dazzling atmospheres of the Costa Smeralda in the fifth. Naturally, the characters' nature, the way we are used to seeing them act, and their consistency in the story remain unchanged.

Giuseppe Gagliardi

The year 1994 constitutes the watershed between two worlds. Two different ways of being citizens, voters, politicians. It is the beginning of the Second Republic. I was fortunate to be able to tell a piece of our country's history through the four episodes I directed (4-6-7-8). The opportunity to stage a sometimes dissonant picture, within which the characters move driven by the desire to win over each other. The opportunity to be so close to them as to hear the breathless sound of their personal "cold war." On the ground are all the elements of classical tragedy: the chorus, war, politics, the state, friendship, jealousy, betrayal, love, and hate. For example, the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office is the theater of a long battle. The final challenge between Di Pietro and Berlusconi passes through and intertwines in the minds and souls of all our characters. A picture where even a small and simple gesture like taking off the "battle uniform" (the toga) will prove to be a violent and strategic gesture that reverberates in History. The dramaturgy suggested the visual path to me, tracing the direction to follow, alternating lyricism with moments of simple glances and words. The opportunity to accompany the characters to the conclusion of their emotional and narrative journey, bringing them to an outcome, allowed me to broaden my thinking, allowing me to have a wider and clearer idea of staging, always seeking an empathetic line between the characters and the viewer.

Claudio Noce

Directed by

Giuseppe Gagliardi
Claudio Noce

Created by

Alessandro Fabbri
Ludovica Rampoldi
Stefano Sardo

From an idea by

Stefano Accorsi

Subject of series and screenplays

Alessandro Fabbri
Ludovica Rampoldi
Stefano Sardo

Produced by

Lorenzo Mieli
Mario Gianani for Wildside

A production

Sky - Wildside in collaboration with Beta Film

Executive producer

Elena Recchia

Delegate Producer

Valentina Avenia

Creative producer Wildside

Claudio Corbucci

Sky executive producer

Nils Hartman
Sonia Rovai

Editing

Chiara Vullo
Giogiò Franchini

Scenography

Roberto Caruso

Director of photography

Marco Graziaplena
Timothy Aliprandi

Costumes

Gianni Casalnuovo

Music

Ratchev & Carratello

Sound engineer

Umberto Montesanti

Casting

Francesca Borromeo
Valeria Miranda

Director's notes

We are at the end of the election campaign, the biggest marketing operation ever seen. Months of great enthusiasm. The campaign served to sell the impression that things were set up for change. 1994 is the year in which they tried to sell the new. Certainly not the different. It was essentially the reproduction of a pre-existing model. After the year of Revolution and that of Terror, therefore, the trilogy comes to completion with the story of the year of Restoration. We left Leo Notte agonizing on the ground, we find him in the afterlife of a television studio. It is the time when television and politics become one. That dystopian world prefigured in the 70s by Flaiano is realized: "In 30 years, Italy will not be as governments have made it, but as TV will have made it." The world of our characters. The one where the stakes for survival are always the same: power. In the new season, the concept is renewed. The multistrand narrative that intertwined the different stories of the characters transforms, and each episode acquires a different style and form. I tried to give a precise mark to each of the four episodes I directed (1, 2, 3, 5), changing the staging, tone, color palette, and music each time. It moves from the claustrophobic environments of a political thriller in the first episode to the dazzling atmospheres of the Costa Smeralda in the fifth. Naturally, the characters' nature, the way we are used to seeing them act, and their consistency in the story remain unchanged.

Giuseppe Gagliardi

The year 1994 constitutes the watershed between two worlds. Two different ways of being citizens, voters, politicians. It is the beginning of the Second Republic. I was fortunate to be able to tell a piece of our country's history through the four episodes I directed (4-6-7-8). The opportunity to stage a sometimes dissonant picture, within which the characters move driven by the desire to win over each other. The opportunity to be so close to them as to hear the breathless sound of their personal "cold war." On the ground are all the elements of classical tragedy: the chorus, war, politics, the state, friendship, jealousy, betrayal, love, and hate. For example, the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office is the theater of a long battle. The final challenge between Di Pietro and Berlusconi passes through and intertwines in the minds and souls of all our characters. A picture where even a small and simple gesture like taking off the "battle uniform" (the toga) will prove to be a violent and strategic gesture that reverberates in History. The dramaturgy suggested the visual path to me, tracing the direction to follow, alternating lyricism with moments of simple glances and words. The opportunity to accompany the characters to the conclusion of their emotional and narrative journey, bringing them to an outcome, allowed me to broaden my thinking, allowing me to have a wider and clearer idea of staging, always seeking an empathetic line between the characters and the viewer.

Claudio Noce