(2024, Italy, Switzerland, 206')
The film is a sort of cinematic and poetic encyclopedia divided into three acts, each dedicated to a single subject: animals, plants, and stones. Each act is also a tribute to a specific genre of documentary cinema, ranging from found footage, including images from Roald Amundsen’s South Pole expedition from 1910-1912 (Bestiari), to poetic footage shot inside the Botanical Garden of Padua (Erbaria), and industrial images about the role of minerals in preserving collective memory (Lapidari). It is a sentimental journey through culture, science, and art, set to the evocative music of Massimo Mariani.
A couple in both work and life, Massimo d’Anolfi (1974, Pescara) and Martina Parenti (1972, Milan) have showcased their work at several prestigious festivals, including Turin and Locarno, before arriving in Venice with Spira Mirabilis in competition in 2016, and with War and Peace in the Orizzonti section in 2020. Their latest film, A Day in the Piero Bottoni Archive (2022), was presented at the Turin Festival.
D'Anolfi and Parenti unveil the world of plants and animals in a poetic cinematic ‘encyclopaedia'
