Biography Dox

The Disappearance Of My Mother

Beniamino Barrese
Screening time  
16.03. / Monday, 15:00 - 17:00 Theatre 1 Ticket
18.03. / Wednesday, 22:00 - 00:00 Theatre 6 Ticket

Benedetta Barzini was a revered Italian model who shattered stereotypes by becoming a journalist and professor and gained notoriety by publicly criticizing the fashion industry’s deep-seated misogyny. But now, in her 70s, Barzini’s distaste for the world of images has deepened into an existential crisis. Quietly and without warning, she packs her belongings and tells her son Beniamino she intends to disappear from the material world forever. Alarmed, Beniamino devises a plan he hopes will allow her to confront – instead of flee from – the very thing she most distrusts: the camera. By capturing her on film, he intends to salvage his mother’s true essence and preserve her narrative. This is a radical documentary born out of a series of confrontations between a mother eager to set herself free and a son desperate to use the medium of film to keep her close. What begins as a deeply personal fight for control transforms into a profoundly collaborative project, one that attempts to rectify decades of harm inflicted by the camera’s oppressive gaze.

Barrese

Beniamino Barrese

Beniamino Barrese is an Italian photographer, director of photography, and filmmaker. He earned degrees in philosophy at the University of Milan, international political economy at King’s College London, and cinematography at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England. Barrese’s work as a director of photography includes fiction and documentary films, commercials, music promos, and short films. The Disappearance of My Mother (2019) is his feature debut.

General sponsor

Storia di B. – La scomparsa di mia madre

Italy
2019, 93'

Directed by:
Beniamino Barrese

Screenplay by:
Beniamino Barrese

Cinematography:
Beniamino Barrese

Edited by:
Valentina Cicogna

Music:
Aaron Cupples

Producer:
Filippo Macelloni

Produced by:
NANOF

Festivals & Awards:

Global Cinema Film Festival of Boston 2019 – Grand Jury Prize Best Documentary Film; Biografilm Festival 2019 – Special Mention; West Lake International Documentary Festival 2019 – Best Feature-Length Documentary; European Film Awards 2019 – nomination for Best European Documentary; Sundance Film Festival 2019; Hot Docs 2019; CPH:DOX 2019; Cartagena International Film Festival 2019; DocAviv 2019; Brussels Festival of Liberties 2019; Frameline Film Festival 2019; Transilvania International Film Festival 2019; Filmfest München 2019; Shanghai International Film Festival 2019; Taipei Film Festival 2019; Bergen International Film Festival 2019; BFI London 2019; Göteborg Film Festival 2019; Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2020; Cinema Eye Honors Awards 2020

Contact:

Autlook Filmsales
Spittelberggasse 3/14
1070 Vienna, Austria
T. +436702087881
E. welcome@autlookfilms.com