Young Italian director will make a short film about the theft of the Mona Lisa. But he needs support

A project for a short film about the theft of the Mona Lisa: this is what Federico Caria, a director and screenwriter born in 1995 and a student at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, plans to present the short film as a project for his thesis. The film will recount a fact that really happened: the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa by Italian painter Vincenzo Peruggia, a story we have also told in detail on these pages. The short film will be titled Une bouffèe d’air (“A Breath of Air”), will be fifteen minutes long, will be set in 1911 Paris, and will be in Italian and French, with subtitles.

Playing the role of Vincenzo will be Alberto Baraghini, actor in successful web series such as Run Away (2013), Milano Underground (2014), Hidden (2016), and winner of the Best Actor in a Drama award, for Hidden, at the Rome 17 Web Awards. For Baraghini, also appearances in docufictions by Rai (such as Maxi or 1870 The Battle for Rome) and Sky Arte(Botticelli in Florence, the Birth of Beauty). In contrast, French actor Maxence Dinant(The Name of the Rose, The Pupil 3, The Emotional Material) plays Commissioner Dumont. The short film’s crew, all made up of young and very young people, is completed by assistant director Stefano Moscone, set designer Silvia Allegra, costume designer Nadia Pistorello, and set photographer Deborah Zuanazzi

The project is supported by the Cecilia Gilardi Foundation, but Caria needs additional funds to be able to make the short film, especially for post-production and distribution of the finished product. For this, the director is looking for contributions and donations from individual supporters, and to accomplish this, he has activated a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, based on the principle that those who support the project with at least 10 euros (but you can donate as much as you want) receive a small prize in return. For supporters who give between 10 and 15 euros there will be a PDF script and digital poster of the short film in return. A contribution of at least 15 euros will provide a thank-you card; for those who support the short film with at least 25 euros, there will be a 4K digital copy of the short film, while those who donate at least 30 euros will receive a DVD and those who support the film with at least 40 euros will receive a Blu-Ray. For those who want to donate at least 100 euros, however, there will be a special thank you credit (the name will appear in the credits under “special thanks,” in addition to the 4K copy and digital poster). Donors who give at least 500 euros will be credited as an “associate producer” and will receive the 4K film and digital poster. For those who donate at least 700 euros, there will be in return a magazine signed by the entire cast (with backstage photos, storyboards, the story of the trial), a reprint of the page of the Petit Parisien of August 23, 1911 (with the news of the theft), the digital poster, the film in 4K, and the blu-ray. Finally, for those who donate at least 1,500 euros there will be recognition as a producer, in addition to all the benefits mentioned above. The campaign page explains in detail how the contributions will be invested. If the project is not realized, those who donated will see the amount returned.

“The short film,” says Federico Caria, “is my three-year graduation project from the New Technologies of Art course at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, and is supervised as thesis advisor by playwright Argia Coppola. Dealing with universal and current issues, such as immigration and racism, despite being an event that happened in the early 1900s, the project has all the elements to be selected as a candidate in various national and international film festivals.”

Federico Caria, despite his young age, already works as a freelance video editor for communication agencies (for example, he collaborated on Disney’s promotional videos for the launch of the film Thor: Ragnarok in Italy) and has written and directed three short films: The Gate in 2017, Shambala in 2018, and Lex Tallionis in 2019. His videos can be seen on his YouTube channel.

Young Italian director will make a short film about the theft of the Mona Lisa. But he needs support

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