Spettacolo

October 22, 2017 · Knoxville Museum of Art · 2:00 p.m.

Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves.

Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th–anniversary performance just might be its last. Spettacolo tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world.

“That story can be so poignant and is so intelligently told that it feels wrong, almost insulting, to call Spettacolo charming, even if the movie is often delightful.”–Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Theater lovers and Italophiles alike should savor Spettacolo… An engaging and wistful look at the tiny Tuscan village of Monticchielo and its longtime tradition of producing ‘autodramas.'”–Gary Goldstein, LA Times

About the Filmmakers

Jeff Malmberg is a documentary director and editor based in Los Angeles. His debut film, Marwencol, won more than two dozen awards, including two Independent Spirit Awards, Best Documentary of the Year from Boston Society of Film Critics and Rotten Tomatoes, and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival.

Chris Shellen is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She began her career as a film development executive based at a Paramount Pictures, and has worked in documentary, narrative and new media for over 15 years. Spettacolo is her directorial debut.