Gaia works in her family funeral home and takes care of the bodies while the soul is leaving. But one day, something unexpected happens.
English Title Holy Care Year of production 2021 Length 15min Country Italy Shooting Format Arri Digital Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Dialogue No Dialogue
Director Cristian Patanè Producer Nicoletta Cataldo, Cristian Patanè Production Insolita Film, Cristian Patanè Associate Producer Baburka Production Executive Producer Nicoletta Cataldo Writer Cristian Patanè, Andrea Paolo Massara Cinematographer Daniele Ciprì Editor Mauro Rossi Music Bruno Falanga, Lady Maru Production Designer Sabina Angeloni Costume Designer Marija Tosic Make-Up Effects Baburka Factory Sound Design Simone Usai Colorist Andrea Maguolo Cast Selene Caramazza, Francesco Colella
Festival selections Corto Dorico Film Festival 2021, Italy - World Premiere BOGOSHORTS - Bogotá Short Film Festival 2021, Colombia Sanfici - Santander Festival Internacional De Cine Independiente 2022, Colombia Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2022, USA Landshut Short Film Festival 2022, Germany Fastnet Film Festival 2022, Ireland Les Nuits Méditerranéennes 2022, France Lago Film Fest 2022, Italy - SNCCI Award, Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani Ortigia Film Festival 2022, Italy BuSho Film Festival 2022, Hungary Minikino Film Week – Bali International Short Film Festival 2022, Indonesia Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2022, New Zealand Molo Film Festival 2022, Italy - Audience Award Reggio Film Festival 2022, Italy Presente Italiano 2022, Italy Magma – Mostra di cinema breve 2022, Italy Macau International Short Film Festival 2022 Transcinema Festival Internacional de Cine 2022, Peru International Usak Short Film Festival 2022, Turkey IFSAK Short Film Festival 2023, Turkey Website Insolita Film
Director's Statement The rites existed before our history and also resist in secular societies. Death is one of the crucial moments in which human beings find themselves on the fundamental aspects of their existence. That time, marked by the rite, is one of the most sacred moments in everyone's life. This film brings to light the discourse on death. Through the pain of loss, we want to tell the beauty of that bond that unites the world of the living with the world of the dead. During the preparation of "Holy care" short film, I received help from several funeral homes that allowed me to witness the thanatoesthetic rite. I was their apprentice for a few weeks. With the leading actress, Selene Caramazza, we witnessed various preparations. The study of the lifeless human body was at first a shock, then a peaceful coexistence, which oriented the story and the work with the actors.
With Daniele Ciprì we have chosen warm light to tell the deceased, cold light to tell everything that is outside. Hot for the realism of death and cold to turn on the light of the imagination.
Techno music characterizes the character of Gaia, not only because it gives her an identity: it is sensorially what brings us closest to her contact with death. Despite the pounding rhythm and the alienating sounds, I am fascinated by the meditative state in which this kind of music can put you. In the second part of the film the sound is emptied, the music emerges from the sound background. The sound is in fact the most laborious part of the film: the words are the sighs and the silences.
