Hot Docs / DokLeipzig (Golden Dove for Best Feature Length Documentary) 2019 – I Had a Dream
Manuela and Daniela dream to change their country, Italy, and make of it a non-corrupt and women-friendly country, but meet the harsh reality. From the feminist fights against Berlusconi to the last elections of 2018, the film explores the last ten years of Italy through the political action and the everyday life of two compelling protagonists, witnessing the weakness of democracy and rise of populism.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Claudia Tosi
Watch I Had a Dream on Vimeo on demand
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
In 2008, when I heard that a woman from my little town was running for the Italian Parliament, I thought I had the chance to make a film about politics from inside, through a personal story, showing the side of politics that we never see on TV. Back then, we thought that election would have been epoch-changing and that Berlusconi would have been defeated for good. But we were wrong, Berlusconi won. I thought I had not enough material to make a film, so I went on shooting and following my characters. My European colleagues seemed very interested in my film, especially because there weren’t any about female Italian politicians and because it was not known if and how Italian women were reacting to Berlusconi’s misogyny and paternalism. A few years later, in 2011, the biggest Italian women’s movement, IF NOT NOW WHEN?!, was born and one of my two protagonists was amongst the founders. I decided to include also that narrative line in the film. In the meantime, the economic crisis devastated Italy, the political world was blown over by winds of anti-politics and my protagonists were between the hammer and the anvil. At that point, it was clear that the bigger picture of the film was not only the women’s fight for a women-friendly country but the transformation of the political landscape, the crisis of representative democracy and the rise of populism. I decided to go on shooting until I could see it clearly and I accomplished the 10 years process of shooting at the last political election when 70% of voters gave their preference to populist party.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In Belgrade, Serbia, a spectator came to me and said: “Thank you for this film. This is the first Italian Film about Serbia shot in Italy. I hope it will open people’s eyes”. What she was saying is that the situation the film was depicting was not specific to Italy but universal. Democracy is facing its weakness during our times when corrupted and selfish politicians, indifferent citizens, uneducated people are not taking care of the common thing, which is the necessary condition in order to have a functioning democracy. Nevertheless, the film shows signs of hope, thank politicians like Manuela and Daniela, brave, strong, honest and competent women who challenge their times with passion for the sake of their country and citizens. This message has been grasped by most of the spectators, who, after seeing the film, have expressed to be willing to do their best to act against the state of things. A young German spectator, after seeing the film in Leipzig, thanked me for having told a story of commitment and hope that helped her to decide to be a protagonist of their political scene. Manuela and Daniela’s fight makes people who are politically active feel less alone. The film functions as a symbol that gathers different people with the common goal to protect democracy, equality and freedom.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film unfolds everyday personal and political life of Manuela and Daniela. Conflicts break out all the time, like when Daniela is doing some chemo treatments and engages in very hard discussions with nurses about the distrust in politicians; or when Manuela, facing voters, is rudely attacked despite her hard work; or when Daniela, during a City Council argues with a councilman who considers violence on women as a “small inconvenient”, something that may happen in a couple. Discrimination, populist attitudes, distrust for politicians are not described or theorised, but experienced from the protagonists, during their daily routine. The spectator feels their strain, their raising disenchantment and emotional suffering scene after scene. Nothing is told, reality happens and Manuela and the Daniela are in the middle of the storm. The whole film is framed in a meta-cinema construction. Manuela and Daniela are asked to sit in a movie theatre and watch their ten years of political adventure to react authentically and provide a deeper look at what they went through.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Along the ten years of shooting and constant rewriting, the film has achieved a wider meaning. The feminist fight was one of the lines intertwined in the film and not the leading one. The wider picture depicted the change of times and the rise of populism. Along the process, what has never changed was my positive judgement of their commitment and action. Year after year, my trust in politics was rising and also my awareness of citizen. I saw hope and despite their rising disenchantment, I wanted the message of hope to be in the film. The structure changed, some scenes were cut, others added, but the theme was always the same, we have to keep fighting despite the achievements, that is the only way to preserve democracy.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film is having great success. It is travelling through Europe, from festival to festival, and now it has landed in North America. People mirrors themselves, take inspiration, admire these two brave and strong women and wish there were more people of that kind in their countries. We are not used to seeing strong women in politics, but there are many, shadowed by their male colleagues. I Had a Dream wants to give a stage to women in politics. We need women’s view of a more equal society. After the screenings, there are never-ending Q&As about the contents of the film which seem to mirror the countries where the screenings take place and it is great to hear the enthusiasm of people. Some of them write to me and want to keep in touch. I haven’t screened it in Italy, yet. I have decided not to screen it until the beginning of June when the local election will be over. By only having released the trailer last October we have been strongly and badly attacked on social media by opponents of Manuela and Daniela. Despite haters had not seen the film and were not sure what this “object” was like (in Italy we have no TV slots for narrative documentary and it is hard for people to understand the genre. They think documentary should have to do with wildlife), they accused us to have done a film against the opponents of Manuela and Daniela’s party, for propagandistic reasons, which is not the case. Because of the poisoning atmosphere triggered by the election of May, I will release the film after the election in order to protect the film and keep it far from the mud machine which they call political campaign.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Feedbacks have surprised me in a good way. I could not imagine that such a simple movie about a very local and personal story could be read as being so universal. Many spectators have expressed the hope that I would continue following the protagonists or interpreting the world of politics with a sort of sequel. I did not consider this idea until it wasn’t suggested by so many spectators. I have to think about it. We are immersed in post-truth time and it might deserve a deeper look. Let’s see.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
My hope is to reach as many viewers and promoters as possible. The film is running for Oscar 2020 and it would be great to build a network in order to have screenings in North America to campaign for the Oscar. It is a pretext, of course. The USA and Europe are facing major threats to their democracies but also women are asking for gender equality and respect worldwide. The film intertwines both crucial issues, so I hope it could be a tool to gather people, raise debates and awareness and maybe push women to go grab a leading role. Movements are an amazing expression of civil commitment, but change is possible only when action is taken to a political level. I hope the film could inspire activists and non-activist, especially among feminist movements, in order to put their forces together to reshape the world we are living in, to make it juster.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The film is going well in Europe and I hope it will soon step out from the festival circuit in order to meet people in cinemas and other places. North America is an unknown territory for us, we hope to receive interest from those who can help organize screenings, build the audience, reach out people.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I am aware that films cannot change the world but they can help create the atmosphere and the cultural environment, which makes changes possible. This is what I hope for my film, to be a humble tool for raising awareness, create networks and spread hope. I also hope it will inspire filmmakers in engaging in what they think it matters. We can make important films also with very low budgets, as in my case. But it is crucial to work on dramaturgy, not to rely only on the contents. During the 10 years of work, I have attended several workshops to improve the dramaturgical structure of the film and strengthen its international appeal. The “good” travels better with the “beautiful”.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Can we still save politics?
Can we save democracy in these populist times?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Too early to say.
Interview: April 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
I Had a Dream
Manuela and Daniela dream to change their country, Italy, and make of it a non-corrupt and women-friendly country, but meet the harsh reality. From the feminist fights against Berlusconi to the last elections of 2018, the film explores the last ten years of Italy through the political action and the everyday life of two compelling protagonists, witnessing the weakness of democracy and rise of populism.
Director: Claudia Tosi
Producer: Claudia Tosi
Writer: Claudia Tosi
About the writer, director and producer:
CLAUDIA TOSI has studied at the University of Bologna, as a philosophy major, and has been working as a documentary filmmaker since 2004. She has won the Golden Dove for the Best Feature Length Documentary Film at DokLeipzig 2018 with her film I Had a Dream.
Key cast: Claudia Tosi (Author, Director, Producer, Camera, Sound), Marco Duretti (Editor), Andrea Gioacchini (additional camera); Diego Schiavo (Sound Mix), Enrico Pasini and Daniele Rossi (original soundtrack), Paolo Rapalino (Color grading)
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: I Had a Dream
Twitter: @claudiatox
Instagram: @claudia.tox
Hashtags used: #ihadadream
Website: deckert-distribution.com
Made in association with: Cosmographe, France Télévisions, Film Commission Emilia-Romagna
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Doxa/Vancouver - May; DocsBarcelona-May