Screentime: Ambra Corinti, Founder of Zajia Lab Project Space

Nick Richards | Feb 26, 2014 3:00 pm | Add a comment | 1721 reads

"Screentime" is a regular magazine column in which we ask Beijing personalities to tell us about the films and television shows that have left an indelible impression on them.

Which character from TV/film would you most like to be?
The Big Lebowski.

What movie do you watch to remind yourself of home?
Films with the Italian actor Alberto Sordi. Here are two: The Marquis of Grillo, a 1981 Italian comedy directed by Mario Monicelli. The film depicts early nineteenth-century episodes in the life of a nobleman in Rome. Nowadays, Rome and Italy are still like they were in the film.
Then, there’s An Average Little Man (also by M.Monicelli). The first hour is a fine example of Italian comedy, and the second part is a psychological drama and a tragedy. Above all, it reminds me of the concept of a home depicted in Fellini's Amarcord. The latter film's title is a neologism for "I remember." When I watch it, I really feel at home.

Who is the best cartoon dog?
Pimpa, from a 1975 Italian comic strip which became an animated cartoon series. She is a curious, white dog with big, red spots, who behaves like a small girl. I think all Italians know this cartoon. She is so beautiful, and those red spots represent the way she sees the world. Like everybody else, I have always been especially attracted to them. If she was a Japanese artist, she would have been a big, international star just like the 83-year-old artist Yayoi Kusama, the queen of dots!

Is there a movie soundtrack or score that you use to get yourself into a certain mood?
There are several. The ones I can remember right now are some of Emir Kusturica’s film soundtracks by Goran Bregović, the Kill Bill soundtrack by Tarantino, In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai, The Postman soundtrack composed by Luis Bacalov, and soundtracks from films by the Italian director Sorrentino. And of course, The Blues Brothers!

What movie do you refuse to watch on principle?
Gone with the Wind. Maybe I’ll watch it one day…or maybe not...

What is the slowest paced movie you still enjoyed?
Mother and Son by Alexander Sokurov. I am fascinated by every single shot. It’s a very beautiful film – slow, meditative and poetic.

What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
While I like to watch horror films, they never scare me that much. Maybe it was because my father was a big fan, so I watched many when I was a kid. However, the films that make me feel paranoid or cause psychological tension are those by David Linch. Also, when I was a child, I was scared, but at the same time very attracted to Kubrick's The Shining.

What movie first made you say: “Wow, how did they do that?”
The first time I watched Fitzcarraldo, a 1982 West German film by Werner Herzog. When I saw the scene where they have to drag the ship over the mountain, I thought , “My god, They really did that?” The answer was yes – no computer special effects were used. I will never forget that scene. When I watched the documentary The Burden of Dreams about the chaotic production of that crazy film, I saw how they did it. The documentary is possibly even more amazing than the feature film.