Valerio Ruiz, All about Lina Wertmüller’s Talent and Story
Valerio Ruiz, Lina Wertmüller’s assistant director and right-hand man, talked about personality, story, and talent of the first woman to get a nomination for Best Director at the Academy Awards.
The life and the career of Lina Wertmüller came to San Francisco in September thanks to ‘Dietro gli occhiali bianchi’ — Behind the White Glasses.As pointed by Director Valerio Ruiz, “Lina had always been a bit hidden behind the mask of her white glasses, however, since I had the chance to know her world so well at the point, I decided to share my beautiful, human experience and make a docu-film out of it.”
Mr Ruiz met Lina Wertmüller in 2006 during the Culture Management summer school at the Ravello Festival, while she was acting as the artistic director of the Cinema section. The school was founded by Valerio’s university Professor, Domenico De Masi, who was also the President of this amazing event. The Festival started as a tribute to Richard Wagner’s music, however Mr De Masi transformed it in a three months international event, where all the muses of the arts were represented: symphonic and chamber music, theatre, dance, cinema and visual arts.
“I had the privilege to become Lina’s collaborator in the artistic direction of the 2007 Festival edition”, Mr Ruiz added. “During the Festival I talked to Lina many times about my passion for cinema and my will to become a film director. She gave me suggestions and shared more about the movies she had written. She has always believed that the best way to learn how to make movies is through experience (rather than school lessons), nevertheless she gave me the great chance to be part of her small team of assistant directors.”
Valerio, what can you recall about the beginning of your work with Lina?
When I started, I was both happy and nervous: when Lina writes and prepares the movie, she is very calm and sweet. When she is on set, she turns into a strong leader, and she can be rude sometimes. At the very beginning, it was not easy — I was 21 years old — but I really appreciate every moment I could spend on the set with her. It was a rare opportunity to see and learn from a great director’s experience. I will always be grateful to her.
What would you consider the best part of this collaboration?
Lina involved me in many projects. She also allowed me to collaborate on scripts and plays: this is priceless to me. I can’t mention a moment in particular. Lina is a master in writing and directing actors. I can look back at my whole collaboration with her and see the way I’ve improved since the Ravello Festival. I started as assistant director, after few years I could make my first feature documentary and now I feel ready to make a narrative movie. In few words, this describes how intense and positive the collaboration with Lina was.
When did you decide to film the documentary and why?
Lina is a unique artist. I love her movies because they reflect her personality, her joy of life, her social commitment, and her irony. Nobody had ever directed a documentary about Lina’s incredible life and career, so I thought I had to do it.
Which is Lina’s aspect that you liked the most and you want to communicate through this piece of work?
I think it’s her versatile talent and her irony. She made movies, wrote plays, many songs… she can even sing. She is the most ingenious person I have ever met in my life. I tried to convey her vibrant, artistic vitality in my documentary.
Which is Lina’s comment about the documentary you will probably never forget?
She simply said “Good job” after watching the movie and before sending the copy to the Venice Film Festival. She did not interfere with the creative process and her opinion was a concern. It must have been odd — for her — to watch her own life on the screen, and that’s understandable. I have to say, I didn’t follow an historical approach to the narrative, I tried to make a moving portrait of her. That was a risk, but luckily she liked it.
Originally published at www.italoamericano.org on August 30, 2017.
