Discovering the official jury of the 8th Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award, curated by Silvia Jop, and this year composed of Eleonora Marangoni, Motta, and Valerio Mieli. Their task is to select, among the 12 films chosen across the various sections of the Festival, the one that most incisively conveys the values of inclusivity and sustainability. Among the jurors is Motta, who today will also be the protagonist of a masterclass at Isola Edipo, where he will talk with Massimo Coppola about music and cinema, and perform at the piano a few pieces from his repertoire.
How do you approach this experience as a musician? In what way can a film address these themes and convey them to the audience without slipping into rhetoric?
A film has to move me and make me think. It has to be beautiful, first of all, and it has to be brave – otherwise it risks falling into rhetoric, into the mechanical duty of rewarding a work just because it deals with an ethical issue. As for music, since I also work on soundtracks, I suffer from a professional bias. Yesterday, for example, I was sitting in the wrong seat, the sound wasn’t good, and I was disturbed by my own hypersensitivity to audio quality. In any case, music is undoubtedly a fundamental and authorial part of a film, on the same level as all the other elements that contribute to it. Screenwriter, director, and musician work together like a band. That’s why I believe there can never be a bad film with great music, nor a great film with bad music.
You’ve been invited to join the jury of the Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award. As a singer-songwriter and composer, do you believe music is still an effective medium for conveying these values?
Yes, but less than before – far too rarely. There was a time when even in bars people discussed politics, because there was a shared social consciousness. Today, however, there is a deep disillusionment toward this vital dimension of society. As a result, commitment has also waned among artists, who have always absorbed and expressed the spirit of their times. Personally, I always try to speak my mind without hiding, to take a stance even when it comes to writing about love. For me it’s important to make clear where one stands. And I think the fact that the music of the past still offers us strikingly relevant reflections today shouldn’t discourage us from writing new, engaged, and political music.
Are you currently composing for the cinema?
Yes, I recently finished the soundtrack for Tutta colpa del rock, a School of Rock-style comedy starring Lillo. It’s my first comedy, and it was really challenging, since it’s a very tricky genre. Paradoxically, the closest thing I had done before was horror. But difficulties aside, working with Lillo was truly fascinating – he’s an amazing person.
Of the films you’ve seen in the selection so far, what can you tell us?
I’ll just say today was a beautiful day, full stop. No hints, not even the tiniest trace of a spoiler.
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