Florence, 28 June 2024 – An evening in memory of Sergio Staino In presence of Pier Luigi Bersani as an actor to talk about work and precariousness, the routine of loneliness, consumerism and the search for happiness. The “Cine-concert of happiness” scheduled for Wednesday July 3rd at 9.30 pm, at the Manifattura Tabacchi in Florence (Cortile della Ciminiera), will be an evening with live music, short films and conversations with guests, curated by director Agostino Ferrente (author of the award-winning “Selfie”, “Le cose belle”, “L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio”) and musician, writer and pediatrician Andrea Satta with his Têtes de Bois (winner of three Targhe Tenco and just nominated in the top five for Best First Work, for the album “Niente di Nuovo Tranne te”), together with the choir “La Musiquorum” directed by Maria Grazia Campus, and with Paolo Hendel, Pier Luigi Bersani and the Staino family. The first live event of the summer arena season Cinema in Manifattura Tabacchi curated by the Stensen Foundation, the Cine-concert of happiness will feature a concert by Têtes de Bois, interspersed with screenings of two short films by auteur artists and meetings with friends from the worlds of music, culture, cinema and politics. The Tuscan preview of the short Coupon – The film of happiness: a mini-film, with music and semi-silent, starring the legendary Milena Vukotic (recently awarded the Davide di Donatello for Lifetime Achievement), the writer and poet Maria Grazia Calandrone (finalist of the Strega Prize last year), Paolo Lombardi (actor and voice actor, he was the Italian voice, among others, of Alfred Hitchcock) and Pier Luigi Bersani, for the first time as an actor (the director made him play seven characters…). A short film that talks about summer holidays, but from the point of view of those who can’t afford them and stay in the city. The protagonist is Andrea, who doesn’t go on holiday, a dazed, solitary guy; every day he meets the workers who populate a sultry Rome, everyday heroes all played by Bersani: the shelf stacker, the delivery man, the greengrocer, the cashier, the delicatessen owner. But if, between magical encounters, adventures and bizarre and surreal events, achieving happiness is a dream, chasing it can turn out to be a nightmare… but then, are we sure that, as they say, happiness makes you happy? Also on the program is the video clip (also directed by Ferrente) Alfonsina e la bici with Margherita Hack (and a cameo by Sergio Staino): to the notes of a song by Tetes des Bois, the story of Alfonsina Strada is retraced, the cyclist who in 1924, defying rules and conventions, participated as the only woman in the Giro d’Italia, obtaining numerous awards, including international ones. During the “Cine-Concert of Happiness” the films will dialogue with the live musical show, accompanied by comments from the guests in conversation with each other and with the audience. Maurizio Costanzo
