screenplay Stefano Migliore, Enrico Masi cinematography Giuliana Fantoni, Alberto Gemmi editing Giuseppe Petruzzellis music Zende Music sound Jacopo Bonora art direction Stefano Croci, Sophie Westerlind with Mike Wells, Sue Jackson, Osita Madu, Julian Cheyne
As a kid trying to fill the sea with infinite sand, a titanic and apocalyptic need, to understand the Olympics process. That process was going on in London, where I moved to live, just when the virus was growing. To approach a massive collective event, in the heart of capitalism, like a urban odissey started by the colonial heritage to the beginning of digital primitives.
"The first time I came close to the canal system in London, I discovered a totally new world, in many ways hidden away from the normal city features, made out of symbols, icons and stereotypes known throughout the world. Then, after having a poetic dream, I cam up with the film's main character. He was to be a man who lived on a boat. With the passing of time, a big event would collide with his (extra)ordinary life. A great sporting event called the Olympics. This is the extent of what happened in the dream, until one day, speaking with writer Iain Sinclair about the future of east London, this man came to life. His name was Mike Wells. We met in close proximity to another important scene - a new construction being built on the ashes of the Stratford marshland, made next to abandoned train rails, marginalised communities of gypsies, and the valley of the river Lea. This is where the Olympic village will be built. Canals were also a part of this scene, but they were surrounded by stadiums, facilities, new residential neighbourhoods and a mammoth building which seems to touch earth and sky. It's a new mall, and it's the biggest in Europe. We started going around this zone and we discovered more problems, more issues, human stories - a kaleidoscope of different people all touched by the same syndrome." (Enrico Masi)
Enrico Masi (Bologna, Italy, 1983), a musician and director, started focusing on cinema in 2006, starting a research film called Shooting Postmoderno. His first experiment was a short filmed in France entitled La situation est Claire. In 2009, he shot Khalid, a documentary presented in numerous international festivals. Meanwhile, Ulisse Futura was shown in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and at the Genova Film Festival. In 2010, he made Giussano, which looked into the Lega Nord political party. In 2012, I colonnelli di Roma was selected at the Rome Independent Film Festival (RIFF).
