Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Giulio Bertelli’s debut feature, “Agon,” was selected for the Museum of Modern Art’s annual New Directors/New Films festival. The 55th edition took place at MoMA in New York from April 8-19.
Set against the lead-up to the fictional Ludoj 2024 Olympic Games, “Agon” follows three female athletes as they prepare for and compete in rifle shooting, fencing and judo. The film immerses the women in the political, social, technological and physical pressures of elite sports.
Drawing inspiration from Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, and Russian cavalry officer Nadezhda Durova, “Agon” offers a contemporary exploration of the contradictions in sports: originally designed for wartime practice, later evolving into professional competition and entertainment, and now intersecting with video gaming as a new form of sport. The film premiered at the International Film Critics’ Week of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Luciano Sovena Award for best independent production.
In an interview with Cineuropa, Bertelli addressed the film’s non-fiction feel, saying he intended it to have a “It was important to create a distance from everything that was shot as TV sports materials for broadcast,” he said. “I also avoided long lenses, slow motion, and such. One film I drew inspiration from was ‘The Moment of Truth’ by Francesco Rosi, a 1960s movie about a bullfighter with very observational scenes, almost like it was spying on the character.”
Bertelli selected the historical figures based on the specific challenges faced by his characters and how those challenges resonated with the chosen icons. “Alice, the judoka who needs to have a leg operation, became Cleopatra because that was someone with considerable knowledge about medicine and body care,” he explained. “Then there’s Giovanna, the fencer, whose opponent is very seriously injured during their match — she is Joan of Arc, the first historical figure I came up with. Because of the accident during the games, Giovanna has to go through a process, a courthouse tribunal, enduring it from a sports and moral side of things.”
Bertelli travelled to New York to present the film and participate in an audience discussion. We will keep you posted on any future screenings stateside.
