“You are too old for this role, we will contact you as soon as there is an open position for your profile” would seem the courtesy phrase after an audition went wrong, but instead the call really came e opened the doors of the world of cinema to Giulia Dragotto, a fourteen-year-old from Palermo who became the protagonist of “Anna”, the Sky Original series, created and directed by Niccolò Ammaniti based on his novel of the same name and produced by Wildside of the Fremantle group.
«To tell the truth, the first auditions for ‘Anna’ went really bad.
Still I can’t explain how Niccolò placed all this trust in me, choosing from 2,000 little girls. I don’t have an acting school behind me, initially I was too fake and I couldn’t convey anything, but Lorenza (Guess, Ammaniti’s wife and coach on the set ed) he saw something in me that worked and decided to have workshops follow me. So, little by little, I melted and the spontaneity they were looking for came out “so little Giulia, who never stopped studying thanks to her tutor who made her keep up with the eighth grade program, remembers the first times on the set of the dystopian fable, where there was no lack of physical difficulties.
«I’ve always been called “the wooden girl”, as I am really clumsy, but on the set I found myself shooting scenes that put a lot of pressure on pI note my agility, especially my physical stamina. The stuntmen helped me a lot, but there were situations in which no one could do anything, like when we shot on Etna at 4 in the morning with -4 degrees, I still feel the cold just thinking about it “he says, focusing on the strange sensation I felt when the representation of some scenes shot with masks in a world devastated by the Red virus, to which only children survive, it crossed with the current reality overwhelmed by the pandemic.
“We started shooting in the summer of 2019, but then the lockdown forced production to stop. Niccolò begged us not to grow too much in those months so as not to lose credibility, but if I was growing up it wasn’t my fault – he explains with a smile – We were all terrified of losing the job done up to that moment and I don’t hide the fact that I was afraid of seeing this great opportunity fade for me ».
The film debut with a tenacious character on a set strewn with death and suffering, in a period marked by the pandemic, represented a unique opportunity for growth for the very young actress who, strengthened, has learned to give the right importance to problems, but also to the figure of the parents.
“Anna finds herself an orphan at the age of 8, managing to wriggle between ferocity and shortcomings, in the guise of a similar adult, thanks to the inheritance of “Notebook of the important things”, A guideline left by her mother with directions to survive. I would not be able to imagine a life without my mother, among other things my confidant, nor would I be able to find Anna’s strength, but thanks to this experience I realized that nothing should be taken for granted, not even a hug, because there is no certainty of tomorrow “she adds, certain that education and culture help to face difficulties in a different way.
And, inevitably, the thought goes to “Blu”, the band of wild and angry children who roam the rubble of an apocalypse, in part resembling the bullies of today’s society: «In my opinion, in reality, they are not bad but insecure: they attack the weakest as a form of protection. I have never been a victim of bullying, but I have happened to be laughed at by peers for no reason and I must admit that before I felt bad, but now I have learned to react with superiority ».
Good and evil, in the wild Sicily reproduced on the set of “Anna”, chase each other between ecstatic visions and lapilli of memory, always revealing the hope of a tenacious adolescent like Anna, like Giulia who, with surprising maturity, declares «at my age it is difficult to distinguish good from evil, but precisely in this phase of change we decide whether to follow the teachings of our parents or let ourselves be influenced by others ». And the path chosen by Anna’s character is very clear, as well as that of the young actress who, united by the same courage, confides in us to feel more reflective thanks to this role and the impact with the pandemic, which allowed her to develop the spirit of adaptation.
“At 14, of course, I can’t have a pessimistic thought about the future, but I don’t deny that I too have moments when I get depressed, especially when a family member is sick or I hear discouraging news on the Tg. But now I learned not to keep everything inside and I accept the help of loved ones because, together, things are overcome more lightly. Even if together, at the moment, it is a virtual word »he continues, focusing on the value of freedom, another key theme of the TV series available on Sky and Now.
“Freedom for me at the moment comes in the evening, when I connect via video call with my friends – he says with a bitter laugh – Fortunately, at home, I have my own spaces and a garden, but I would like to live my adolescence. Unfortunately, when the lockdown began I was about to turn 13, so I still haven’t tasted the freedom to go out alone. “
The character of Anna, in reality, in a world without rules, finds herself anything but free and survives thanks to memory and imagination. The same elements that Giulia uses to recall, through a photograph, the smells and sensations of moments from her childhood or to imagine herself, in 10 years, a normal student. In fact, when asked about the possible follow-up to her career as an actress that has just begun, she replies with great wisdom “I continue my life as before, I choose to keep my feet on the ground, first of all for my own good because I know that if another opportunity does not arise again, I would be even worse off by making myself illusions ».
Giulia does not deny having lived the most intense experience of her life, she sincerely hopes there are other job opportunities, which turned out to be a passion, but for the moment her gaze is turned to the eighth grade exams and the first summer of leisure.
«I have to admit that shooting“ Anna ”, as beautiful as it was, was also very tiring, so after studying I would like to dedicate myself a little bit to myself. Fresh from two summers in which I could not sunbathe because I had to stay white for script requirements, now I would like to enjoy my age “she concludes, certain that she will always carry with her the character of Anna who taught her, above all, to never give up .
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