PRESS CONFERENCE
MARCO BELLOCCHIO
This year the 43rd International Thessaloniki Film Festival is presenting a retrospect of the work of Italian director, Marco Bellocchio. In the press conference given today, the director of the Festival, Michel Demopoulos, welcomed Mr. Bellocchio to the festival, saying: "Marco Bellocchio is one of the most significant post-war directors of Italian cinematography, a pioneer of new cinema and supporter of the ideologies that are also advocated by the Festival. He has upheld and struggled for his beliefs throughout his 40-year career. He's a superb artist, rebellious and deeply political who has never hesitated to reinvestigate and touch upon principles and viewpoints".
Marco Bellocchio spoke about the turn in his career from his early political films to his later "esoteric" ones: "My early films belong to a particular period of time that marked my work. At first there was the desire to change the world through politics. Then we became more sensitive and turned towards the esoteric. What we used to call "our esoteric enemy" turned into an inquiry about who we are and what we feel. It's very interesting, though, to determine the powerful relationship between my first film, Fists in the pocket and my latest, My mother's smile, which continues from where Fists in the pocket left off. Rebellion should be an innate desire, a way of life for every artist. In the old days rebellion was very dynamic and violent. In Fists in the pocket, a young man kills his mother and brother. Today rebellion is expressed in an entirely different way. In any case, though, it remains a reaction against the notions of hypocrisy, lying and conformity.

Against religious thinking
Referring to his opposition to the catholic church, Marco Bellocchio explained his belief: "My mother's smile isn't a film against religion but against religious thought in general; the kind we often encounter in people who have nothing to do with religion. I believe that this dimension of religious thought is the most dangerous. Atheism is not just talk. There's a practical side of it in our everyday life. Regardless of whether someone claims to be an atheist or not, if they see life in terms of good and bad they expresses religious thought. Whoever doesn't believe that they can change the world has a fatalistic viewpoint, which in turn is also religious thought. Every form of prejudice is also a religious thought and since leftists are prejudiced, they're automatically religious as well".

About Berlusconi
The Italian director also spoke about Silvio Berlusconi and the way he's regarded by artists in Italy. "The Italian film nominated for an Oscar was announced yesterday and it was Benini's Pinocchio. The directors that voted for the nomination had to choose between Pinocchio, Crialeze's Respire (both Berlusconi's productions) and my own My mother's smile. Therefore, all Italian artists are not against Berlusconi. The two first films, though, are distributed by Berlusconi΄s production house. Italian cinema has traditionally leaned towards the left. Today, though, it seems to have moved more towards the right".

His next film
Mr. Bellocchio spoke about his next film which deals with the abduction and murder of Aldo Moro: "Nowadays terrorism is dealt with on new terms. Aldo Moro's story had an emotional impact on me. When I was offered to shoot the film I accepted but only on my terms, with my own personal notion of the story. Shooting begins in January".

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