Universo Elegante
The artist collective NONE designs and realizes the Italian Pavilion “Universo Elegante” for the 69th Cannes Film Festival. From May 11th to May 22nd, 2016.
The 69th Cannes Film Festival Italian Pavilion was designed by the artist collective NONE, coordinated by Luce-Cinecittà, in collaboration with Anica and with the support of the Direzione Generale Cinema, Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico and ICE.
The whole Pavilion architecture is a celebration of the Italian motion picture Universe: it pays tribute to it through the most famous and elegant icons and scenes in the filmmaking firmament. This concept gives the Pavilion its name: “Universo Elegante”.
The Universe laws reflect the Italian filmmaking ones, through more than 7500 white fabric ribbons that hang from the ceiling creating a constantly moving image and light flow. The whole project –from its architecture to the embedded communication- is inspired by the “String Theory”, according to which the Universe is not made up of atoms only, but of ribbon-like energy strings as well. Such harmonic and elegant vision of nature is metaphorically compared to the Filmmaking Universe, whose strings are nothing else but the celluloid films.
As the physical Universe, “Universo Elegante” is constantly moving and is furtherly enhanced by an interior kinetic installation, which is the Pavilion beating heart. As visitors enter, they are overwhelmed by an image wave, which is lit up by a light enlivening the films. This interior kinetic installation gives visitors an immersive experience, by involving them inside a body moving at the rhythm of its own breath.
As the Universe is shaped and enriched by bodies of different gender, shape, and colour, the Italian Pavilion installation pays tribute to the intrinsic quality of the Italian filmmaking industry: eclecticism. The choice of the titles that are lit up in the Pavilion strings is rich and diverse: it ranges from the unforgettable moments of Rossellini, Visconti and De Sica, to films that triumphed in Cannes, as L’avventura by Antonioni or La dolce vita; from masters such as Scola, Monicelli, Risi, to the most diverse exploits, namely the Academy Awards to Tornatore and Salvatores; from the Bears awarded to Caesar must die and Fire at Sea, to The wonders by Alice Rohrwacher; from authors such as Bertolucci, Moretti, Emanuele Crialese, Pietro Marcello, Paolo Genovese, and Laura Morante, to two very appreciated directors such as Bellocchio and Virzì, who are representing Italy in this Cannes Film Festival edition.
Thanks to an accurate material choice, from wood to light fabrics, and to the white and blue navy tones, the Italian Pavilion creates a perfect synergy with the seaside environment surrounding it.
