Many artists have been keeping Italians company online during quarantine. Actress Claudia Gerini is one of them. And she sends us a postcard full of hope.
Among the sectors and categories hardest hit by the lockdown imposed by the coronavirus emergency is that of entertainment. Cinemas, theatres, concert halls and auditoriums were forced to close their doors and cancel screenings, performances and concerts from the very start of phase one. A heavy blow for a sector that has traditionally never had an easy time, between on-call work and scarce public resources.
From the outset, however, it was precisely the world of culture that responded to these difficulties in a constructive and generous way, making itself available to people confined at home in a creative and spontaneous manner. Credit goes to new technologies, but also to that sensitivity which, by its very nature, sets artists apart.
While singers and musicians have been ingenious enough to organise concerts on their home balconies or via social media and the web (above all the great charity show One world together at home organised by Lady Gaga), many actors have begun entertaining their audiences by reading and performing poems and short stories for them.
Claudia Gerini has done the same, through the portal www.posso.it (created as a gesture of solidarity and sharing during the emergency), offering a personal interpretation of some "philosophy of life tidbits" in Romanesco dialect by Gioacchino Belli and poems by Nobel Prize-winning author Wislawa Szymborska. Like her, other artists have also lent themselves to interviews or moments of sharing, from Gabriele Muccino to Alessio Boni and Francesco Pannofino.
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"An actor's job is to entertain and stir emotions, and I've tried to do that by performing sonnets and poems," Gerini told us during a live interview on our Instagram channel. "On this digital platform, everyone can offer their own time. I find this exchange very beautiful — it allows people to offer advice to those who need it, and for everyone to teach and learn something. It's a bit like the ancient concept of bartering."
The idea of bringing this meeting place for free mutual support to life came from producer Manuela Cacciamani, founder of One More Pictures, who made it happen together with Direct2Brain and in collaboration with Rai Com Rai and Rai Cinema.
And so, with the speed that is so often lacking in normal times, within just a few weeks a search engine took shape that already has more than four thousand registered users, including psychologists, foreign language and music teachers, chefs, lawyers, and many other professionals and enthusiastic amateurs who have collectively made available more than ten thousand hours of their time. Some have even offered to teach over-60s how to use a computer.
Gerini continues: "In difficult situations like these, people find ways to stay closer together, and thanks to technology there is so much we can do today. We've shown a great deal of solidarity."
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According to data released by Enpals (the national social security and welfare body for entertainment workers), there are currently between 300,000 and 380,000 people connected to the world of entertainment and culture in Italy who are not working. A figure that highlights the scale of the problem, as the actress points out: "There is a tendency to identify the sector only with those who appear on stage, but the world of entertainment is not made up solely of artists, actors, directors, dancers and musicians. Behind the scenes there are all the crew members — from sound technicians to make-up artists to stagehands — who represent an enormous number of people. Right now we are trying to work out how to get back to work. Many professionals will probably continue working from home for a while longer."
The start of phase 2 marked a first step for the entertainment world as well. Sets in Lazio will be allowed to reopen, albeit under strict rules: actors will have to be tested before filming, they will have to wear masks as soon as they leave the scene, and a doctor must always be on site.
Gerini herself recounts having left three productions on hold before the lockdown. Chief among them is the third season of the Netflix series Suburra, set in the capital and eagerly awaited by audiences.
"Suburra was in its final week of filming when we had to stop," explains the actress, who plays Sara Monaschi, a Vatican auditor embroiled in shady dealings. "The third season is almost ready — there is really very little left. It's one of those productions that was already under way when the lockdown began, so they will try to pick up again as soon as possible. We hope it will be ready by September."
Two other films were also waiting to get started for her. "We were about to go on set for a film by Edoardo Leo called Lasciarsi un giorno a Roma, a dramedy about the end of long love stories. I really liked the screenplay and I'm thrilled to be able to work with Edoardo, as the opportunity hadn't come up before. Then there was another film by Salvatore Allocca, a young Roman director, with whom we were about to shoot a film called Mancino naturale, about the story of a widowed mother raising her eleven-year-old son alone — a highly talented football player."
While the protocols for restarting sets open a glimmer of hope for the film and television sector, the future of cinemas, theatres and cultural venues remains uncertain. Among the first to close at the start of the pandemic, they will probably also be among the last to reopen. Some suggest next autumn. Meanwhile, over these past weeks the theatrical release of some films has been replaced by streaming and pay-TV. A solution that has sparked debate: does building audience loyalty this way mean driving them away from cinemas? Does releasing films now mean having nothing interesting to offer when venues reopen? Legitimate doubts, though they do not discourage enthusiasts.
"Going to the cinema and the theatre are unique and irreplaceable experiences, and they are also important moments of social gathering and sharing," Gerini acknowledges. "The prospect of a vaccine is still a long way off, but I am certain that with the right rules in place it will be possible to reshape a new normality."
In the meantime, there is no shortage of ideas for relaunching the sector, with some proposing culture vouchers for families, and others exploring the possibility of opening open-air arenas and drive-ins.
"These are all solutions worth considering," the actress continues. "For instance, here in Rome a petition was launched to reopen an old drive-in that used to be on the Cristoforo Colombo road. Open-air cinema is romantic and the season is just right for it. There was also talk of a new platform agreed upon by exhibitors to make films available to watch at home. These are temporary solutions, but we will then need to find a way to reopen cinemas and theatres."
The image Claudia Gerini would send to humanity from a post-emergency world is one with "vivid colours". "I'm a positive person," she explains, imagining having to send a message of hope from the future, as we asked everyone on our social media. "I would write that the true art of living is being well even when things don't go the way we'd like, and that there is a happiness that is independent of any external condition, that is tied to nothing material and is always available within us. I believe that, as with all of life's adversities, this one too is destined to end. There will come a day when we can all return to normality."
In the meantime, each of us can do our part, giving meaning to our days in a creative and, why not, generous way. The possibilities are plentiful.