"Theatre only lives if it burns" arrives in cinemas in Sardinia for three days
March 13th in Cagliari, 14th in Sassari and 15th in Monserrato
«Theatre cannot be sold», said Masi Carrara, «it cannot be left to rot in a warehouse. We can't throw this away, ever. Better to burn it." It was the Sixties, Italy was changing, televisions were arriving in homes and the epic of traveling theaters, which began at the beginning of the twentieth century, was coming to an end. The Carraras, a theatrical dynasty that descends directly from the ancient itinerant companies of the sixteenth century, were free and inventive interpreters, always ready to get involved in a new remote corner of the country. Their glorious but little-known story has given shape to a very well-edited documentary, “The theater lives only if it burns” (Italy 2022, 60 minutes), directed by Marco Zuin, with the production of Ginko Film and the narrative voice of Andrea Plumes.
The documentary is screened in Sardinia during three special evenings, on 13 March at 9pm at the Cinema Spazio Odissea in Cagliari: Mauro Mou of Cada Die Teatro and Gianluca and Noemi Medas of the Compagnia Figli d'arte Medas, heir to the oldest family tradition of actors on the island, active since the early twentieth century and pioneers of theater in the Sardinian language. On March 14th at 9.30pm stop in Sassari, at the Cinema Moderno, with a screening in collaboration with the 4CaniperStrada association as part of the 5th edition of the Asinternonie Festival, with the participation of Stefania Muresu (artistic creator). Finally, appointment on March 15th at 8pm, at the Sirio Teatro Sardegna in Monserrato (CA) as part of the twelfth edition of Happy Birthday Faber.
The film was also made thanks to the support of the Sardinia Film Commission (Location Scouting) which gave the opportunity to identify some Sardinian locations where the filming took place: the ancient Tonnara of Portoscuso and the Casa Campidanese of Maria Luisa Matta in Nuraminis . Some Sardinian professionals participated in these sets: the director of photography Francesco Piras, Federica Ortu as focus puller and Roberto Cois as live sound engineer. In addition to Ginko Film producer Andrea Mura: «I am happy to have involved Sardinia in the filming, and then, coming from the theater myself, in my youth, I wanted to tell this story».
Through the memories of the Titino brothers, Annalisa, Armando Carrara and their mother Argia Laurini, the film aims to reconstruct not only the last season of a popular theater that no longer exists. «In the 20th century the Carraras brought the theater to every corner of Italy», says the director, «it was also a matter of building eight meter stages from time to time for 500 seats in the stalls, inventing something new every evening to capture the attention of the public, who could even walk for kilometers to follow the shows".
Between interviews, monologues and expertly edited archive material, we arrive at the present day, after the Carraras, from authentic stage animals, have also reinvented themselves as interpreters of the great tradition of the Commedia dell'Arte with tours all over the world, from Istanbul to London, from Tokyo to Paris, from Buenos Aires to Montreal.
