Giuseppe Tornatore is mystified by the love Chinese audiences have shown his films, but he’s not complaining.
The Oscar-winning Italian filmmaker behind “Cinema Paradiso” and “The Legend of 1900” is serving as president of the main competition jury at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Both the films were box office hits in China when released in recent years.
Speaking with Variety, Tornatore says he never specifically targeted Chinese viewers when creating his celebrated works. “When I made these films, obviously I didn’t think specifically about the Chinese audience,” the director says. “I told these stories because I liked them. When I made them, I hoped they would reach audiences, though I wasn’t sure they would.”
“Don’t ask me what the reason is, the explanation for this miracle, because I’ve never understood it,” Tornatore adds. “But I am surprised, admired, and very grateful for the love of the Chinese audience.”
This marks Tornatore’s first visit to Shanghai, where he’s spent most of his time in screening rooms with fellow jury members. “It’s been a beautiful experience because we’ve seen so many very beautiful, very interesting films,” he notes. Despite his busy schedule, the director has managed to experience the city’s warmth firsthand, saying he is “very struck by their affection toward my films” and will leave “with curiosity and the desire to return to get to know this city even more.”
Looking ahead, Tornatore reveals he’s finishing the script for a new film he plans to begin preparing at year’s end for production next year. While remaining tight-lipped about details, he discloses the project will be shot partly in Italy and partly in another foreign country.
When asked about reports in the Chinese press about his involvement with a script based on acclaimed Chinese author Liu Cixin‘s science fiction short story “With Her Eyes,” Tornatore confirms this was connected to a previously announced 2016 collaboration with China’s Alibaba Pictures Group that ultimately didn’t materialize.
“It’s true, I wrote the screenplay, it’s very true,” Tornatore confirms. “We developed it, I wrote the screenplay that I really like and that the producers also liked. But then the film wasn’t made.”
The science fiction project would have represented new territory for the filmmaker. “It was a new challenge because it was a science fiction film, a genre that I’ve always liked,” he explains.
True to his reputation for versatility, Tornatore emphasizes his continued desire to explore different genres and subjects, noting there are many other genres he loves and wants to try. “I like when I make a film, if I can change the subject, tell something different from the others, because this makes me feel like I’m making my first film again,” he says.
The director’s approach reflects his career-long commitment to reinvention, noting that he has “always tried to change from one film to another” and hopes to continue doing so.
Tornatore’s presence at the Shanghai International Film Festival underscores the growing cultural exchange between Italian and Chinese cinema – which includes the Italian Screens initiative – with his own films serving as a bridge between the two film cultures through their universal themes of memory, nostalgia, and human connection.
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