Valentina Cervi: “Fear of nothing”

When Valentina Cervi says “family” the voice warms up. His, he set up with Stefano Mordini, together they have two children. And of being an actress and director even at home, she finds only merits. «We understand each other, both from an artistic and a practical point of view», he says, «We know what it means to be within an absolute, dedicated dynamic, we know what it feels like. And so far it has only done us good. It is a very healthy relationship. And then we are old, we have already done things ». Ride. And in this autumn of shooting, the actress continues to make things out of it. It is Eleonora Rummo in the much talked about The Catholic school, directed by her husband Mordini, now in the cinema after her debut at the Venice Film Festival; said Fernanda Pivano on TV and in theaters throughout Italy is bringing The road that goes into the city, a monologue-show based on the first novel by Natalia Ginzburg. «We have returned to normal life», he continues, «but the situation continues to be delicate, anomalous. Covid has highlighted many fears of all of us, and therefore also the most violent and also the most human aspects “.

Is it already time to take stock?
“I’m still a little confused. I let myself be guided by intuition. With the knowledge of being very lucky, I was also in lockdown. I didn’t encounter any major hitches, my children’s wonderful school was almost always in attendance, we did a lot of outdoor sports. And our organization of time and work is now proven, so it held up. My partner and I exchanged roles a bit, without telling each other ».

The Catholic school unexpectedly arrived at the cinema with heavy censorship: forbidden to minors under 18.
“For all of us it was a cold shower. The film never equates the victims with the executioners, on the contrary it shows that a choice is always possible. But the fact that it was censored strongly affected public opinion, the film began to cause much discussion, people took a stand. And that’s what cinema has to do: to create discussion, to stir consciences. This also happened to the boys, and it’s wonderful because the film was made with them and for them ».

The road that goes into the city, instead, it is a short work, written in 1942, at another time.
“Almost everything has changed since then, but Ginzburg’s words are always powerful. Here Delia, a little girl, dreams of emancipating herself, of reaching the city and she knows that to do so she will have to corrupt herself ».