LA PROVA
THE TEST
Toni Isabella Valenzi / Belgium, Italy / 2021 / 27 min / Colour
European premiere
Rosa and Peppe age together and raise pigs together in the mountains of Calabria. Toni Isabella Valenzi was with them for more than a month, with delicacy and patience, to capture the intimacy of a relationship made up of small discussions, repeated gestures, consolidated habits: he who gets his hair cut by the barber at home, she who leaves with her Panda to fetch wood in the forest; he who prefers french fries to pasta, she who as soon as her husband coughs is ready to hand him the water; he who counts the medicines he has to take, she who proudly shows off her luxuriant vegetable garden. At dinner they discuss the astronauts who go to the Moon and to Mars; in the evening, in front of the television, they talk about politics, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Until the time comes to sharpen the knife and kill the portly pig. Rosa, Peppe and their pig grow old together and equally accept life and death.
Toni Isabella Valenzi
Of Italian origins, but born and raised in Geneva, Toni Valenzi was first a graphic media designer before studying directing at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Belgium. His graduation film, La Prova, is dedicated to his family and his origins. He also co-directed the film Sofia (2020) and is currently working on a short fiction film.
Credits
Cinematography Alexandre GarcíaSound Timothée MontaniEditing Matthieu LequyMain cast Rosa, PeppeProduction company IAD / Médiadiffusion