The film Sorry if I exist is inspired by true story Of Guendalina Salimei, a Roman architect known for her work redeveloping the Corviale in Rome. The feature film, directed by Riccardo Milani, will be broadcast tonight on Rai 1 in the early evening.
The true story of Sorry if I Exist!
In 2009, Guendalina Salimei won the competition called ‘Green Kilometer’ for the redevelopment of the Corviale in Rome, known as ‘il Serpentone’ due to its length. This is a controversial project public housing designed by Mario Fiorentino in 1972.
The Corvial it is an imposing complex over a kilometer in length. Due to the difficult living conditions of its inhabitants, many point to it as the symbolic neighborhood of degradation of the suburbs of Rome.
The project It was originally conceived as an innovative housing solution with spaces for shops, professional studios and artisan workshops on the upper floors. However, these areas remained without services and were illegally occupied ten years after construction was completed.
The project of Guendalina Salimeiwhich involved a renovation, with changes to the divisions of the spaces and the insertion of greenery and gardens, was never realised.
Riccardo Milani used this incipit to address issues such as gender identity, inequalities in the world of Work and social prejudices.
Guendalina Salimei, after seeing the movie, told Corriere della Sera the differences between reality and fiction. “Unlike Serena, I don’t have a partner like Francesco and I’m not of Abruzzo origins“.
Then, referring to his Workhe added: “This is a job that is done on site. In a ‘male’ climate, with workers who are not so subtle. AND understandable that there is not much consideration for women. I often found myself the only woman in the group. If it happens once it’s a coincidence, but if it happens almost always, a few request you do it“.
Plot and cast of the film
Sorry if I exist! tells the story of Serenaa very talented architect who decides to return to Italy after a series of successes abroad.
However, Serena finds herself facing challenges related to her career and the job market, in which her competence and talent are not adequately recognized due to gender bias. For this reason, he decides to pretend to be a man to get the job you deserve.
In the meantime, meet Francis, a charming and intelligent man. Initially, Serena believes that Francesco is not interested in women, but in reality she will discover that there are more facets to her life. The two develop an intense relationship and help each other, sharing secrets and deceptions to face the difficulties of life.
Sorry If I Exist is played by Paola Cortellesiin the role of Serena, a figure inspired by Guendalina Salimei and Raoul Bovain the role of Francesco, an imaginary character born from film script written by Giulia Calenda and Paola Cortellesi.
In the cast of the film, which we told you about in our review of Sorry if I Exist!, are also there Cesare Bocci, Ennio Fantastichini, Corrado Fortuna, Lunetta Savino and Stefania Rocca. Thanks to this film, Paola Cortellesi received nominations for the David di Donatello and the Nastro d’argento 2015 as best leading actress.
