I Wanted To Be Vittorio Gassman

Italy in the early 60’s, the classic Italian comedy and Aldo Marianecci. "I wanted to be Gassman" is a mix of these three elements: a decade and an iconic genre in the history of Italian cinema and a heartfelt tribute to a real life character.

Aldo Marianecci, aka "Bobby", is an actor whose name doesn’t ring any bells to most people. He started his acting career with a minor role in "Shoeshine" by Vittorio De Sica and went on playing only secondary roles on TV as well as in films made by acclaimed directors.

The story told in the short film takes place early on in his career, precisely when Aldo is about to take it to the next level, in the early 60s, after his role in the TV film "Il mondo è una prigione" by Vittorio Cottafavi.

WWII is behind and the social and economic reconstruction has already widely started in the previous decade. We’re nearly at the end of the economic boom and the Italian movie scene is dominated by the comedies of Monicelli, Risi, Pietrangeli, featuring actors such as Vittorio Gassman, Tognazzi, Sordi, Mastroianni. A cinema that is lighthearted and deep at the same time and that describes to perfection both Italy and the Italians.

When I shot Bobby Marianecci’s 24 hours in his native Cisterna, I borrowed the cinematic language of the early 60’s, trying to mirror as much as possible the acting and the shots typical of those times. To better describe the main character, I used the mockumentary, staging fake interviews shot in Super 8 to other characters that were very close to him. The words of his sister Anita and his friends Cesare and Umberto reveal the character the same way it was revealed to me by the people who knew him in real life. Bobby was one of a kind, a personable buffoon. In Cisterna they called him "the Actor", a man who loved both cinema and his little town.