Originally published in L'Opinione
The Venezuelan filmmaker Diego Marquez Todeschini directs a new short film: Window. This marks a turning point in the director's professional career. The short film has a duration of just five minutes and dramatically depicts the moments following a suicide attempt. The protagonist is severely injured and finds himself on the street after jumping from the window of his apartment. Those witnessing the scene show no compassion towards him and do not try to help. The condition in which the protagonist finds himself serves as a metaphor for the tragedies of contemporary society, specifically the indifference shown towards those dealing with the consequences of depression or mental illness.
The significance of this production is also evident from a technical standpoint. The director showcases his skill in the meticulous mise-en-scène, purposely made to appear decadent and devoid of any vital tension. This immerses the viewer into the distressing atmospheres within which the plot unfolds. The scenes are illuminated by a cold, sometimes fluorescent light source. In a sense, it appears as if the production was achieved using Kodak's Color Negative Film 5213, where only white and black colors are prominent, except for red, which intentionally emerges only in scenes where the protagonist is injured and bleeding. Regarding filming techniques, two types of framing are employed. Apart from the initial dynamic scene, the story unfolds through a static point of view in the remaining sequences. The lenses used by the author vary in size: 18 mm, 35 mm, and 50 mm.
The protagonist of the short film is Italian actor Thomas Camorani, born in 2001 in Faenza. Thomas already boasts two notable experiences in the film industry, first in a movie and then in a Netflix series: Sotto il sole di Riccione and Summertime. His previous short film, Blu come i tuoi occhi, after participating in numerous festivals, was awarded 9 times. Window is his first short film with an internationally renowned director. He will start filming a Rai project in September.
Diego Marquez Todeschini was born in 1995 in Caracas. His roots trace back to second-generation migrants who arrived in Venezuela from Italy and Portugal. His inclination towards cinema manifested early, with his first steps in this realm taken at the age of six. In 2011, the director decided to leave Caracas and moved to the United States. New York was the chosen city to reside in and radically change his life's course. In the American city, at Rabbit Content, he had the opportunity to complete a professional training in cinematography and also finish his high school studies at Millbrook School.
The honing of skills in executing visual arts found further refinement later at Bard College, where he graduated in Cinema, also gaining adequate education in other fields of knowledge. During his college years, he had the opportunity to build professional relationships with well-known filmmakers and film scholars, acquiring new knowledge to channel into his artistic practice. Notable figures in this regard include Kelly Reichardt, Charles Burnett, and Richard Suchenski.
Diego Marquez Todeschini moved to Italy in 2019, precisely to Verona, significantly changing the perspectives in which to express his professional life. In 2021, he distinguished himself by directing the short film titled Savages!, starring Dominican actor Andres Castillo. This work allowed him to achieve early successes, including being awarded as the best director by the London International Monthly Film Festival. In the same year, he wrote an in-depth text in the literary and cinematographic field, analyzing Timothy Dalton's acting in his portrayal of James Bond. Subsequently, the Venezuelan filmmaker contributed, through a series of interviews with various famous figures in the film world like Lynne Ramsay, Isabelle Huppert, and Pere Portabella, to completing Richard Suchenski's "Film Secession." In 2022, he became the author of an Italian-language short film for the first time, titled "Lights Off," featuring actors Gianmarco Vettori and Klaudia Pepa. The work was favorably received by critics and gained significant approval at numerous film festivals.