By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
Wenders shooting Calabria in 3-D
With his Pina Bausch documentary on hold, Wim Wenders is shooting the first 3-D movie starring Ben Gazzara. While unlikely to reach as many moviegoers as the first 3-D movie starring Ed Asner, ANSA reports the new film starts today in the southern Italian region of Calabria on Monday. It “explores the interaction between immigrants and locals in the area around the coastal town of Badolato. ”People often talk of a global village and I believe the Calabrian town of Badolato is the perfect metaphor for this idea,” said Wenders at a press conference marking the start of filming. ”I have been given a great opportunity here in Calabria. We are telling a story that is not only important at a European and global level but could also educate people on the experiences undergone by migrants.’ The film is to star 78-year-old American actor Ben Gazzara as a town mayor where a local child, who will be cast in Calabria, is struggling to organize a soccer match… Wenders said he felt cinema had an important role to play in shifting the portrayal of refugee and migrant issues away from the political arena and into everyday life. He said the decision to shoot in 3D was part of his efforts to bring ”real life” to the big screen, allowing viewers ”to see reality as it really is,” he said. His interest in conveying reality reflects a broader trend within cinema at the moment, he added ”I think a new cinematic realism is taking hold as the public has had it up to here of films that have nothing to do with everyday life,” he said. ”Over its 120-year history, filmmaking has followed different trends – for example, the periods of realism and neo-realism in Italy. Realism fell out of fashion in the 1990s but is now returning, which I am very happy about.”