The Rossellini and their "Rosselinitis"

The famous family name and family, which, like most others (if not all), is characterized by something specific, at the same time both genius and dysfunctional, is shown in the documentary film "The Rossellini" Alessandro Rossellini which was shown at the opening of the 13th edition of the International Feature Documentary Underhill Fest.

The film was shown to the satisfaction of the organizers, the artistic director and selector of the festival announced at the opening Vuk Perovic, but also to the satisfaction of the numerous audience, whose presence contributed to Njegoš's park shining on Tuesday evening as it has not seen for a long time.

The Montenegrin director, producer and director of photography noted at the opening that the importance, popularity, and domains of festivals and documentary films in general are growing. Ivan Cojbašić.

”Definitions in textbooks say that a documentary film is a 'Creative treatment of reality' or 'Reality as it really is'. We, the audience, know that a documentary goes beyond these definitions, because, like nothing in life, a documentary is not black and white. From our desire to tell stories, recount events, research, experiment, new documentary genres, a handful of new films and authors were born. New small and light cameras have brought us images from all corners of the world. And the documentary film gave us an insight into some new, unknown worlds, cultures and customs, unusual and ordinary people, allowed us to put ourselves in their shoes and live those 60 or 90 minutes with them," Čojbašić pointed out.

All this is confirmed by the film "The Rossellini family", which provides another layer to the documentary approach - a depiction of a kind of therapeutic process that reveals both the author, the protagonist, and the viewer. Whether that therapeutic process originates from the very encounter with the subject, facing experience and life, or whether it develops and takes place during the work and creation of film, storytelling, documentary, is a question whose answer is probably the common content of all of it.

"Director Alessandro Rossellini had the courage and will to reexamine the relationships in the large family of the great Italian director of neorealism Roberto Rossellini", Perović said at the opening...

After watching the film, it seems that Alessandro had the courage not only to re-examine family relationships, but also to re-examine the legacy of the famous director, face himself, and then his family, (hidden) truths, pressures, expectations...

Rossellini's or Roselinitis - the duality that the film, i.e. its author, presents to us, and which corresponds perfectly with the famous sentence Leo Nikochayevich Tolstoy: "All happy families look alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

The term "Rosselinitis" was coined by Alessandro in an attempt to describe all that the burden of surnames and famous ancestors carries - a disease that causes the "patient", or one of the Rossellini, to yearn for the release of the creative genius that, according to all assumptions, he carries in his Rossellini genes. .

Alessandro is the first grandson of the Italian, no less, the world cinema maestro, Roberto Rossellini, perhaps even today an unattainable film genius, but at the same time a characteristic figure who is accompanied by a licentious life.

"Roberto left numerous masterpieces as an inheritance to the whole world, and the (multiethnic) family not a cent, except for family conflicts and hidden or suppressed truths," reveals the director-narrator-grandson at the very beginning of the documentary.

It is gradually revealed that Alessandro does not feel worthy of the surname he bears, that he constantly feels pressure - "expectations to be cultured, creative and natural, just because he is a member of the 'Rosellini clan'", but as he grew up, he became increasingly afraid and understood that there was no genius in him. The film "The Rossellini's" also originates from this, like a kind of saga about this dynasty whose script is still being written by maestro Roberto in a way.

So Alessandro Rossellini, after many reckless decisions/procedures in his life, decides at the age of 55 to "do the last stupid thing - to shoot his debut film, and a film about the Rossellini", he narrates in his documentary, in which (it) is later revealed a lot that which is unknown or less known about the famous director's family: four wives, including a famous actress Ingrid Bergman or an Indian writer Sonali Senroy Das Gupta, about children To Izabela, Ingrid, Robert, Renc, Nur, Jill; and also to the grandchildren, among whom is the director of the documentary, about the relationships within the family, the closeness that (doesn't) exist, the genius that everyone possesses or longs for, and the spirit of Roberto Rossellini that still hovers over all his descendants...

And yet, anyone expecting a "juicy" story or a new film masterpiece by Rossellini, or even a detailed biographical story, is quite likely to be disappointed, because the core of the film is much deeper and further, personal to both the author and the family. , so close to the viewer...

How did the ordinary Rossellini's become "those Rossellini's" and do they all "suffer" from "Rosselinitis", the syndrome of Robert Rossellini's descendants characterized by a series of adopted/inherited practices of the film maestro, such as: a broken moral compass instead of traditional values, potential polygamy, nervousness of (public) performance, a family that does not inspire security, and also a (hidden) need for fame and glamour... Searching for his own answers, Alessandro Rossellini pushes his relatives towards an almost impossible solution to unresolved family relationships and issues.

At some point, it seems as if Alessandro is making efforts to present his own problem with identity, (overcome) existential crisis, but also reckless decisions as a common inheritance of the Rossellini family, which does not turn out to be completely accurate and in which some of his interlocutors contradict him. This film can also be interpreted as his personal catharsis resulting from his desire to find reconciliation or even recognize himself in one of his family members. However, the film shows a series of different personalities, each specific in its own way, which further connects and confuses the already complicated identity picture and politics of Roberto Rossellini's numerous family.

All of this in front of the cameras is clearly not pleasing to all of them and slowly begins to resemble a collective therapy during which everyone opens a part of themselves and at a certain moment stops, takes a break, wonders, remains incomplete, discovers unexpected spaces and questions, only by doing and partially opening the lives of Roberto Rossellini's descendants that he predestined.

Watching the film, the audience gets to know a great director who brought "fresh air" into the world of cinema, truly loved creating them, lived (for) them, but who was also not a fan of other people's achievements, the documentary reveals. This is followed by the realization of the egocentric Roberto Rossellini, a film virtuoso prone to scandals, an authority who chooses the professions of his children, the head of the family for the sake of which all its members, like satellites, exist and around which everything takes place, and at the very end of the pharaoh, lavishly sent off to the world to which relations and part of his opulence, symbolically buried with a bottle of his favorite cologne and a pet. During the film, Alessandro evokes the masterpieces of this cinematographer and thus reaches the film "The Taking of Power from Louis XIV", which he claims is "the most autobiographical film of Roberto Rossellini", thus identifying his grandfather with the embodiment of absolutist rule, the man who called himself the "Sun King" "...

For the sake of the film (or himself) Alessandro Rossellini visited his family, the Rossellini in all corners of the world, from Italy, Sweden, India, the United States of America and thus discovered something about each of them, but also about their mothers, adopted members of the "dynasty", the need to wake up to Rosellina and the Rosellina seal that is given at birth. After eight years, he also visited his mother, a former African-American dancer, Katherine Cohen who lives in a nursing home... Even though she was never officially part of a big family, she tells about the influence of Robert that she feels, and which has somewhat affected her and her life...

In addition to numerous awards, emerging on the world stage of documentary film, travels and conversations with family members, perhaps the greatest achievement of this film is the reunion of the Rossellini family, which is shown at the end. All of them in one place, for the first time after the death and funeral of Roberto Rossellini, met again towards the end of the filming of a documentary on the occasion of a joint photo shoot for the Italian magazine "Vogue"...

Based on the reactions of the numerous audience who, after the screening of the film, also enjoyed the great performance of the band "Amy's house", the trumpet band Amy Winehouse, Underhill again moved the previous criteria and expectations and thus opened a new festival chapter.

Screenings in the "Radosav Ljumović" library in case of rain

At the opening, Vuk Perović presented this year's four selections: regional, international, out-of-competition and the selection of the short film "Seven Short", and the audience can enjoy them during the duration of the festival until June 15 on the court of the Budućnost Basketball Club in Njegoševo Park...

In case of rain, the organizers have announced that tonight's repertoire will be held in the "Radosav Ljumović" National Library, where the accompanying program "In Focus" held in cooperation with the Center for Women's Rights will be held at 18 p.m. tonight. On this occasion, a film will be shown Nina Menkes "Brainwashing: Sex, Camera, Power".

"This is a fundamental study of the sexual objectification of women on the screen. In this film, analyzing the film language, the director questions the position of women as a passive object and the functioning of the film industry as an area in which sexual harassment and economic exploitation of women were tacitly understood until the emergence of the #MeToo movement. The film is being screened as part of an international selection," announced Underhill.

After the screening, a panel moderated by the designer will be organized Milica Šaranović, in which the actress participates Jelena Djukic and producer dr Jelena Mišeljić.

The film is like a cry from the heart

In the "Seven Short" selection, tonight at 21:XNUMX p.m., the film "To adorn marble with flowers" by a young Montenegrin director will be shown. Sara Stijović.

"The only son of a Montenegrin family dies in a traffic accident - the family loses the head of the house. A song with tears is heard - a mourner's song. It is sung by the deceased's sister. Besides being a sign of mourning, it is believed that the mourner is one of the conditions for the departure of the dead to the next world. To adorn the marble with flowers' is a story about a brother and sister - a story about grief and death, but also a story about the love we put into a new life," the film's synopsis reads.

The film "Dida" directed by Nicholas Ilić i Korine Švajngruber Ilić will be shown in the continuation of the program, and it tells about Nikola, who left Serbia 15 years ago to follow his heart and went to Switzerland.

"Since then, his life has been divided between two countries and three women: Dida's mother, his grandmother and his wife. His mother is developmentally disabled and has always depended on his grandmother. As she gets older, Belgrade calls Nikola back. He must not let his mother down, but also he doesn't want to leave his life in Switzerland," says the description of the film by the directing couple, who are also guests of 13. Underhill.

At 22.45:XNUMX p.m., the director's film "How to save a dead friend" will be shown Marusija Siročovskaja, who is in the international selection.

"Marussia is 16 years old and determined to end her life. Then she meets her soul mate in the second millennium, Kimi. They spend a decade capturing the euphoria and anxiety, the happiness and misery of their youth, tucked away in a violent, autocratic regime in the middle of Russia. This film is a cry from the heart, a tribute to an entire silenced generation," reveals the synopsis.

With Underhill you grow, learn, develop...

The growth of the selections at Underhill, as well as the audience, are just some of the components that testify to the growth of the festival itself, which has long been distinguished in Montenegro and the region. For the past 12 years, Underhill has shown the best documentaries from the region and the world and connected us with many distant countries and characters and thus enriched our lives with new knowledge and friendships, pointed out Ivan Čojbašić and recalled his beginnings, which he ties to this festival.

"My first festival screening took place at Underhill and as a young filmmaker it meant to me that I had the support of a local festival. Thus, Underhill gave me, as well as other local filmmakers, the opportunity to learn, grow and improve during the festival . To meet new people, see some new thinking and procedures that others use. With a contemporary and wide selection of films, Underhill has developed a love for documentary film in us and expanded its audience. I want to thank Vuk, Angels, Miru, Herbs, Milena, Deer, David, nikoli, to Pavlo to the beautiful 12 years of the festival and to open the 13th edition of the Underhill Film Fest," summed up Čojbašić at the opening.