On August 30 in Rosazza will take place the premiere screening of “Storie di Pietra – La vita nell’Alta Valle del Cervo (Stories of Stone: Life in the Upper Cervo Valley”, a virtual reality short film directed by Federico Basso and produced by ETT.
This Virtual Reality cinematic Project, utilizing innovative immersive filming technologies, employs a novel approach to live-action filming and harnesses the potential of 360-degree visual experiences.
The short film can also be viewed using Virtual Reality headsets provided by the Production, offering a fully immersive experience.
Rosazza (BI), August 30, 2024 – A journey into the past will unfold on Friday, August 30, at 6 PM, at the Tennis Club, Via Roma, 2, Rosazza (BI) with the premiere screening of the Virtual Reality short film, “Stories of Stone. Life in the Upper Cervo Valley” produced by ETT S.p.A., an international digital and creative industry, in collaboration with Equipe Arc en Ciel. The film is set in Rosazza, in the province of Biella, and directed by Federico Basso. The screening will be free for the local community, as well as tourists, enthusiasts, and curious visitors.
The event will be attended by Vice President of the Piedmont Region Elena Chiorino, Mayor of Rosazza Francesca Delmastro Delle Vedove, Mayor of Campiglia Cervo Maurizio Piatti, Mayor of Piedicavallo Carlo Rosazza Prin, and President of the Cervo Valley Mountain Union Davide Crovella. Introductions will be made by Stefano Maffeo from Équipe Arc-en-Ciel, Daniela Casale, President of the Upper Cervo Valley House Museum Association, Director Federico Basso, and Roberto Lo Crasto, Production Director at ETT. A 2D version of the short film will be screened to allow everyone to view it. For a fully immersive 3D experience, the short film can be freely enjoyed using Virtual Reality headsets provided by ETT.
The work is divided into two chapters of about six minutes each and provides a snapshot of life in the Upper Cervo Valley at the end of the 19th century, focusing on the life, values, habits, and daily practices of the inhabitants of these places.
Giovanni Verreschi, CEO of ETT S.p.A., stated: “New technologies allow us to push beyond traditional boundaries and, above all, to create deep connections with the history and identity of territories. Once again, we have the great opportunity to bring people closer and help young people and others discover cultural heritage. Today, indeed, it is important to enhance small centers, which are numerous in Italy, and those who inhabit them as custodians of unique stories and traditions. Through the use of Virtual Reality we can make these historical memories accessible and visible, opening a window on a past that deserves to be known.”
Federico Basso, Film Director: “For Stories of Stone we chose to use Virtual Reality with advanced and immersive filming technologies assisted by steadicams and drones, enhancing the potential of the 360-degree visual experience. Thanks to the fiction/scripted components, we were also able to construct an environment that not only accurately represents the past but makes it realistically livable. Virtual Reality thus becomes a true cinematic language, capable of making historical narration dynamic and engaging, giving viewers ever-new emotions.”
The short film aims to portray, with the narrative register of historical present, the social fabric of the Cervo Valley, composed mostly of men who spent their lives, from March to October each year, on the construction sites of the great works of the time, often far from home. This made women the true protagonists, both in family life and in carrying out the most demanding daily tasks.
The first chapter of the short film is introduced by a voiceover that, using contemporary language, takes us back to what was happening in the Valley at the end of the 19th century. The use of dialect by the characters, albeit in a limited form, helps to make the cinematic scene more agile and dynamic. The second part of the film, instead, focuses first on the dialogue between two men of different social backgrounds and, subsequently, on the scanning of a family’s life, at the moment when the father prepares to leave home to emigrate to distant places where he will be engaged in risky trades.
Luca Pozzato, Director of GAL Montagne Biellesi: “The 7.4.1 cultural services measure has funded the project. We are proud to say that the GAL area does not give up believing that even the most marginal territories can offer cutting-edge cultural services. Once again, GAL shows its ability to intercept the profound needs of the territories by “landing” European funds that are too often considered unreachable. We express equal satisfaction for the ability of the entire upper Cervo valley and the Mountain Union to network. A model driven by our calls to promote collaboration between entities and which continues to give positive results.”
The Mayors of the Upper Cervo Valley: “We express great satisfaction for the achieved goal of making the historically first and longest-lived cell of the Biellese ecomuseum network the most technologically advanced. The strength of the project lies in the synergy between the subjects involved who, for over 30 years, have supported the volunteers of the Rosazza House Museum. This place of testimony today opens up to the wider public of the network and dialogues with new generations through the tools of modernity. We believe, with this project, that we have paid homage to the efforts of all those volunteers who, stubbornly, keep the tradition alive.”
The creation of the short film has, in fact, involved the local community and entities. Alongside the two lead actors, Fiammetta Bellone and Matteo Alfonso, twenty extras belonging to a local theater company and a historical reenactment group from the Biella area participated.
Elena Chiorino, Vice President of the Piedmont Region: “The ability to tell the story of our territories through innovation and modern language represents that added value that allows us to highlight our traditions and our identity to transmit them to an audience that is transformed from spectator to protagonist. My sincerest compliments go to all those who believed in and made this project possible.”