PRESS CONFERENCE
Aurelio Grimaldi - NEW HORIZONS
In the framework of the 43rd International Thessaloniki Film Festival, New Horizons presents six films of the Italian director Aurelio Grimaldi.
Dimitri Eipides, the Director of New Horizons, welcomed the director characterizing him as "a hidden treasure". "His work is rejuvenating. He writes and directs his films, adds the soundtrack and even designs the costumes. Furthermore he has been able to keep away from the mainstream. His work is fresh and unique and not often encountered in modern cinema. He is a significant talent".

Screenplay and direction
Aurelio Grimaldi first wanted to become a director when he was a high-school student. "It's complicated how I actually did it. You need plenty of luck, which I had. My life changed when I started working at the Palermo juvenile prison. Palermo has a reputation for its Mafia activities. I taught at prison in dire times for the city. I decided to write a book about this experience of mine which was very successful in Italy. After that I began to write more books and direct films. I made ten films in the last ten years. In Italy I'm known for the low budget of my films which holds true to this day".

Low budget
As the director pointed out, the situation in Italian cinema is quite unusual. "To make a film in Italy you need the approval of one of the three organizations that exist for this purpose; either public television, private television or the government's cinema institution. It's strange that Berlusconi controls public television. Private television belongs to Berlusconi and a committee controlled by Berlusconi's government gives the licenses. In the past I had difficulties getting approvals and therefore the financial support for films and so I began to make them using minimal budgets to avoid the stress. Two of these films being screened in Thessaloniki are The Whores and Nerolio, both in black and white and both considered "intense" in Italy.

Films about Pasolini
Grimaldi made three films about Pasolini. Nerolio, his first, was attacked by Pasolini's friends. The second will be out in January. "I'm not sure about Pasolini's friends' reactions but I hope that they'll be positive. Both films are a representation of Pasolini's life. There is also Roza Funzeca which refers to Pazolini's Mama Roma. The first two films were made after attentive studies of Pazolini's biography. Nevertheless, cinema and literature are somewhat above reality. In Italy I'm considered a realist and I like realism. However, realism in literature and cinema is not just a simple rendering of the truth; they're similar but different. Perhaps Pasolini's friends are not altogether wrong when they say that some elements of Nerolio are far from Pasolini's truth.

Children and cinema
Before becoming a director Grimaldi was a teacher for ten years. In Palermo's juvenile prison he taught elementary school to 16 year-olds. He was also lucky, though, to teach at normal schools. The star of his film Acla΄s descent into Floristella, which dealt with child abuse was one of his students. "I've always tried to narrate children's stories as well. I prefer cinema that deals with social problems. However, cinema doesn't solve them, it merely underlines them".

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