La Chimera

La Chimera

64th TIFF: Greek Premiere

Each of Alice Rohrwacher’s films is cosmogony, entire of itself: a study in creative freedom, a journey through words we considered already lost, an archeological excavation in the buried genealogies of feelings. In her latest work, this energy becomes a method and a theme. For the band of tombaroli, thieves of ancient grave goods and archaeological wonders, the Chimera means redemption from work and the dream of easy wealth. For Arthur, the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina. To find her, Arthur challenges the invisible, searches everywhere, goes inside the earth – in search of the door to the afterlife of which myths speak. In an adventurous journey between the living and the dead, between forests and cities, between celebrations and solitudes, the intertwined destinies of these characters unfold, all in search of the Chimera.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Alice Rohrwacher
Script: Alice Rohrwacher
Cinematography: Hélène Louvart
Editing: Nelly Quettier
Sound: Xavier Lavorel
Actors: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Carol Duarte, Vincenzo Nemolato
Production: Tempesta, Ad Vitam, Amka Films Production, RAI CINEMA
Producers: Carlo Cresto-Dina
Costumes: Loredana Buscemi
Production Design: Emita Frigato
Make Up: Esmé Sciaroni
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Italy, France, Switzerland
Production Year: 2023
Duration: 130'
Distribution in Greece: Cinobo
Contact: The Match Factory

Alice Rohrwacher

Alice Rohrwacher was born in Fiesole and studied in Turin and Lisbon. She wrote and played music for the theatre before being drawn to cinema, where she began working as a documentary film editor. In 2011 she directed her first full-length film, Corpo Celeste (Heavenly Body) which was premiered at Cannes in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, or Directors’ Fortnight, and screened at the Sundance, New York, London, Rio and Tokyo festivals. Her second film, Le Meraviglie (The Wonders) won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2014, while her third Lazzaro Felice (Happy as Lazarus, 2018), received the Best Screenplay award in Cannes, as well as great international acclaim. In 2015, she directed De Djess, a short in the Miu Miu Women’s Tale series. In 2016 she directed La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi at the Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia. In 2020, she directed the third and fourth episodes of the acclaimed Rai-HBO TV series My Brilliant Friend – The Story of a New Name, adapted from the novels by Elena Ferrante. In 2021, she presented the documentary Futura, co-directed with Pietro Marcello and Francesco Munzi at Cannes (Quinzaine). In 2023, she was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Live Action Shorts category for Le Pupille (The Pupils), co-produced by Alfonso Cuarón for Disney.

Filmography

2011 Heavenly Body
2014 The Wonders
2018 Happy as Lazzaro
2020 Quattro Strade (short)
2021 Futura (documentary)
2022 Le Pupille (short)
2023 La Chimera