My approach to directing this film was to maintain the structure of a stage performance as far as possible, without turning the film into a documentary. Although most of the story does take place on the stage, when the narrative tension is at its peak the camera shifts to the innermost corners of the theater itself, which practically becomes a stop on Haifa's 'journey'. And while the camera can zoom in on the hopes and desperation of the main character Haifa (Ottavia Piccolo), Simone Massi's animated segments treat us a further journey into the emotions of Haifa and her granddaughter.
Simone Marcelli (Arezzo, 1970) obtained a degree in contemporary history before going on to write and direct feature-length documentaries. In viaggio con Luca, devoted to stage director Luca Ronconi, had its premiere at Rome's Teatro Argentina in 2020, while Éphémère - La bellezza inevitabile won the Best Documentary Award al SIFF 2018, and Marcelli's third, A. Wildt. Il marmo e l'anima, was commissioned for the exhibition of works by Milanese sculptor Adolfo Wildt at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris in 2015. Marcelli holds seminars and training courses on audiovisual media and their use on social media as well. He is a founding member of the Associazione Culturale La Catrina, which partners with the brand Catrina Producciones to make art documentaries and promote audiovisual culture.
