Dopo mezzanotte

Italy

Synopsis

Martino is the night watchman at Turin's famous Museum of Cinema; Mole Antonelliana. Indeed, the city's domed landmark monument, with its mysterious labyrinthine passages, spiral staircases and vertiginous chapels rising high above the city, hold no secrets for the devoted custodian. Not only is Martino the guardian of this vast domain at night, but the great monumental temple, which houses the world-renowned Museum of Cinema and all its silver screen treasures, has for years been his own secret home and magical universe. Off hours Martino sleeps in a little hideout he's fixed up for himself in an abandoned part of the building. At midnight, however, the entire deserted monument suddenly comes alive like an enchanted kingdom over which Martino reigns supreme king. Angelo is a small thief from the outskirts. He likes cars and girls. He is the boyfriend of Amanda. Amanda works in a fast food place. She would like to lead a regular life and she works hard to leave her tough neighborhood, but she is afraid she never will. One of these nights Amanda, fleeing from the police, suddenly bursts into Martino's universe to take refuge in the Museum. Their meeting is a wondrous though shattering discovery for both of them. To Martino's amazement, here is the tenderness of a woman's companionship after years of solitude. For Amanda, here is a world of beauty, art and dream, light years from the tough street life she has always known. The lives of Martino, Amanda and Angelo tangle up like one of the silent movies of Buster Keaton, Martino is so fond of. And in fact, the solution of the plot is hidden under the dome of the Museum.

Director's Statement

After midnight is a gentle movie about a very peculiar place. It's also an act of love for the movies - and Buster Keaton in particular. It was made with a small crew, in a short time and with a lot of enthusiasm. Probably an account of that, it's one of my most personal pictures. There's actually not more I should say. Just sit down, open your eyes and go with the stream of the story. Movies can work miracles.

Director's Biography

Davide Ferrario was born in 1956, he lives in Turin. Film critic and essayist for several magazines, he wrote the first Italian book on R.W.Fassbinder (1982). He also translated Lindsay Anderson's About John Ford. He still writes about movies in magazines and newspapers.
In the late 70's he started a distribution company which released films such as Andrzej Waj da's Man of Marble and Wenders' Im Lauf der Zeit. Then he worked as agent for American independent producer-filmmakers, such as John Sayles, Susan Seidelman, Jim Jarmusch and the like. He played a small role in John Sayles's Academy Award nominated Matewan.
His credits as writer-director include six feature films which have been successful at home and have been shown in festivals such as Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Toronto, Hong Kong, where they won various awards. He is the only Italian director to have been invited twice to Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival. Tutti giü per terra won the Best Actor's Prize at Locarno '97.
He is also a noted documentarist. His trilogy about the partisan war in Correggio is very popular and so are his collaborations with the rock group CSI. In 1991 he researched, coproduced, edited and directed American Supermarket, a six part TV series about the golden age of American consumerism which has been sold to more than 20 countries all over the world.
In 1994 he wrote Dissolvenza al nero (Fade to Black), a novel which wittily combines true historical facts with a thrilling fiction revolving around Orson Welles's stay in Rome in 1948. The book won the Hemingway Award and was translated in many languages. The rights have been acquired by London-based Dakota Films for a major production scripted by John Sayles..
Sternly independent, he also runs his own production company to grant complete control and freedom on the making of his projects.
He is a voting member of the European Film Academy.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Davide Ferrario

Written by: Davide Ferrario

Cinematography: Dante Cecchin

Editing: Claudio Cormio

Production Design: Francesca Bocca

Costume Design: Paola Ronco

Make-Up & Hair: Nadia Ferrari

Original Score: Fabio Barovero , Banda Ionica , Daniele Sepe

Cast: Giorgio Pasotti (Martino), Francesca Inaudi (Amanda), Fabio Troaino (The Angel), Francesca Picozza (Barbara), Silvio Orlando (Narrator)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2004