“A love story about my origins”

French film in animation Stop motion exhaustionout August 31 in cinemas, is a work of rare quality, in which Director Alain Augetou He wanted to explore, relive and tell The life of his Italian grandparents Luigi and Cesira, who are in The first decades of the twentieth century They left a village Hughettera in PiedmontTo find luck and a better life in it France. We caught up with Alan to tell him something about the work and the passionate search it’s based on.
Read also
Manodopera, a review of the soulful animated film by Alain Augieto

Manodopyra, rediscovery of origins

“I discovered From where he cameI did it for the children and grandchildren, it’s important Know your assets“, like him Alan Augito sums up his experience in exhaustionborn out of curiosity that has become over time Need: “My father used to tell me about this village in ItalyWhen I was a kid, I was drawn to the story, But Between Us We didn’t even speak Italian. Not that the desire to know more was lacking at the time, but it was not easy to get something from his father, in general, who was already reluctant to delve into his past as a partyHe didn’t want to remember, it’s a bit like what happened to so many Holocaust veterans, they had a hard time talking about it. Once I asked a friend of mine to help me out, over dinner, she probably would have answered. It was so hard for me that he didn’t Drowning, and slept badly that night. In short, on this Emotional closureYou know, something older than that Italian grandfatherveteran First World Warwho came from that faraway Italian village… It was almost impossible.
When my father died, I decided to do it Go to Piedmont And I found out that Ughettera really does exist. She came back to me The desire to rediscover the path of my ancestors in Francecollecting stories from cousins ​​and cousins. […] I’ve collected family testimonials, but I’m talking about…a very extended family! […] I knew everything about The French part of the storyand then for the Italian part, I went back to the bookThe world of losersl Noto RevelliThey spoke of misery, wars, and endurance. From that reading came the desire to make the film.”
Like I said I had Italian grandfatherbut this was the only Italian of the family, and in any case the grandparents and parents They felt French. […] But I studied Italy, between cinema and literature. I got there more than this, it stayed with me Italian lightness, which is the hallmark of your films for me. I didn’t want to be heavy, I wanted eleganceHumor even in cutenesslike Scientific Scopon or in street. “
Even the directions of Manudopera come from reality, there is no influence, such as the harsh judgments of the village on Freelance Rev: “My grandfather did not like priests, priests and parish priests, because at that time it was known that being a priest made you live, it represented an era.”

Work: Stories of Engagement, Migration, and Racism

in exhaustion It is clear how the family of Luigi and the others survive thanks mutual solidarity Among the residents of Ughettera is something very far from Elemental coldness in which heroes are welcomed France. “In the film I told about society, in the family, we helped each other in a wider circle, in one circle Supportive community. after stagemigration There were labor movements, and workers also organized themselves at the union level. Solidarity is valuable: Today that we share more through technology, it would be great if solidarity really was everywhere in the world.”
The original title is just a reference posted on some clubs in France: “Dogs and Italians are not allowed“It’s all true, unfortunately:” The sign was displayed in many bistros in France, Belgium and Switzerland, I wanted to show it, I recognized my grandparents: How could they resist? […] Growing up in France I realized I wasn’t They were not discriminated against because of Italian ancestrybut perhaps because there were now a lot of people of Italian descent. […] Racism is still among usImmigrants are not welcomed as they should be, neither in Italy nor in France.
From your little one, do you see a solution? “I only made one movie, Politics is not my forte, the first thing that comes to mind is that we should analyze the problem at the source, and help them solve the problems there themselves, for example why are there migrations even within Africa itself, between one country and another? But I don’t have the competence to answer. […] I had to tell three generations, we talk about it immigrants over timeOnly contemporary immigration may take another form. This is the The story of a community through the eyes of one family. “

Workforce: Tech, Film, and Collaborators

The most impressive idea in Manodopera is The physical presence of the director on the sets between the puppets, where he appears in some scenes with a foot or a hand entering the field, interacting with the puppets. Why? I am the nephew of Cesira and Luigi, I am not a neutral voiceI am not an outside and outside observer, I’m here because of what they’ve been through. This is one way to thank them, This hand is a love story, it’s my way of doing it. “From August 5 exhibition”Dogs and Italians are not allowedOpen at MEI, and National Museum of Italian Emigration in Genoa: The sets and characters of the feature film can be admired in seven suitcases. the Manual movement stop value, step-by-step animation for dummies, is the soul of it all. Ogito explains: “There are professions and skills that disappear, I was amazed, ingenuity is in our DNA, intellectual work may be outstanding, but we must preserve it, so as not to be afraid to throw the hammer at our fingers. […] Stop motion allows you to do that Show manual work: My grandfather had this talent, it was passed on to me and my father. I like to work with my handsIt is important to pass on the importance of manual labor from generation to generation. […] Stop-Motion lets the hair down, and lets you maintain the perfect distance to tell that story.”
Although we are talking about a small production, the aforementioned handiwork was impressive, staged between Portugal, Switzerland, Italy and France: “It took two to three months to create the sets and characters, the costumes were the hardest thing, we are in our twenties. The work of five people, the visual effects are made in Italy, always working at a distance, the heads are made of resin, the eyes are made of marble, the hair is made of fabric, we used liquid rubber for the joints … and we made a lot of hands!
This is Ughetto’s second work with the producer Alexander Curnowafter Yasmine: “We are about to make a third movie, he likes to make different things, it’s a precious thing, he has been following me since the beginning and agrees with me to continue in this direction.” A trend that hasn’t stopped him from being a great collaborator, the Oscar-winner Nicholas Piovani To the original music: “A dream. I was already listening to his music, and I wanted him to musically accompany my story. He took it as a challenge, because He has never composed music for cartoons. I told him about my grandmother, she wanted to be more French than French, but Italy was still in her, you could tell how she cooked and how she dressed. I showed him this idea and he immediately understood me. He’s a gentleman.”