30. Film Festival della Lessinia
Bosco Chiesanuova (Italia)
23 August - 1 September 2024

The "four times" are four moments of life and death. There is the sick old shepherd who leads his flock to the high pastures of the Calabrian mountains, collects snails and cures his cough with blessed dust, collected on the floor of the church. There is a baby goat who, as soon as it is born, remains behind from the flock and gets lost in the woods, to die under a large fir tree. There is this imposing tree that is cut down, then dragged and hoisted onto the town square for the Feast of the Pita. Finally, there is the charcoal that will be obtained from its trunk torn to pieces and that will heat the houses of the village, but not that of the old shepherd who died in his bed, surrounded by goats. Shot by Michelangelo Frammartino in the same places as Dono, Le quattro volte. it is the film that introduced the director to the world, with his participation in the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. This is the second chapter of a journey intimately and intensely dedicated to the mountains of his land of origin, Calabria, which will continue with Il buco.

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  Michelangelo Frammartino

  Of Calabrian origins, after studying architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and then film at the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti, in 2003 he directed his debut documentary, The Gift. in his parents' native town. In 2010 he wrote and directed, again in Calabria, the film that revealed him to the world stage, The Four Times, presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival. He has been teaching since 2005, holding courses at the University of Bergamo ,the IULM University, and the University of Calabria and collaborating with CISA (International Conservatory of Audiovisual Sciences of Locarno). In 2021 he participated in competition with his third feature film, Il buco, at the 78th Venice International Film Festival where he won the Special Jury Prize.