“Viva La Vita” the National association that deals with ALS (Lou Gehrig disease) whose president Prof. Mauro Pichezzi along with Erminia Manfredi, wife of the superb late actor Nino , asked Francesco Felli, one of the most brilliant emerging film directors, to realize a short film about this devastating syndrome after having seen the success of Francesco Felli’s masterpiece about the Alzheimer disease with Carlo delle Piane and Stefania Sandrelli. (you can see on YouTube “Ogni giorno” by Francesco Felli)

 

When Felli saw the painting “Apollo & Dafne” by Vincenzo Musardo, one of the most cultured and esteemed Italian artists of contemporary art, he found inspiration for his film, he met him and we, from Artisse, produced the film.

 

As you may well know, in Greek mythology, Apollo is infatuated with Dafne because he was hit by one of Cupid’s arrows, but Dafne, not wanting to concede herself to the God and to a fleeting love, transforms herself into a tree becoming totally immobile.

 

The film is about a man who is at an advanced stage of the ALS disease, no longer able to move, who  finds comfort contemplating the works of art hanging on the walls of his room which are his only means of evading the days that go by and remembering the most important moments of his life.

 

The film is sad but beautiful and the director exalts the value of life, of culture and of family affections of whom are asked many sacrifices.

 

The meeting between Felli and Musardo was a real hit, to the point that Felli managed to convince Musardo to appear in the film along with the actors, who are Francesco Montanari and Serena Autieri. The purpose of the film is to make the public aware of the problems caused by this terrible disease and to underline how, even in extreme conditions of life, art can be a comfort.

 “Artisse”, a business company has embraced this project together with four of our excellent artists, Leonardo Chionna, Giulio Serafini, Maria Luisa Colleoni and Susi Zucchi, who realized for the film four paintings that would  have a strong meaning for the protagonist.