Synopsis
Maria, aged 8, must leave the old house where she lives, surrounded by animals in the heart of the Tuscan countryside. How does she view this paradise that is soon to be lost?
About
La réalisatrice
Sa biographie
Rebecca Digne was born in 1982 in Marseille. She lives and works in Paris.
She graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris with honours and was a resident for two years at the Rijksakademie Van Beelden Kunsten in Amsterdam in 2010–2011. She then took part in the Pavillon programme, a creative laboratory at the Palais de Tokyo, in Paris from 2013 to 2014. She was a resident at the Villa Medici in Rome from 2018 to 2019. She has been a member of the board of trustees of the Rodin Museum since 2021. Her work has been exhibited in numerous museums and art centres in France and abroad.
Statement of Intent
Maria’s powerful presence, her uniqueness, her gaze and her movements immediately captivated me, as did the space she occupies. She conveys to me her energy as a wild child, rooted in a natural environment. She is an energetic, resourceful and inventive little girl who surprises me at every turn. When I look at her, I see another role model emerging before my very eyes – one with whom little girls might identify. I immediately felt a deep desire to make a film about her.
During my first visit, Andrea told me that they would have to leave. The owners of the entire hill want to reclaim the houses and land to turn them into vineyards. They don’t know where they’re going to go, and I can sense her anxiety. What sort of place will they be able to find? And where? How will Maria cope with this forced departure? I realise that the coming months will be painful for this family. Above all, I understand what this means for Maria and just how difficult it will be for her. She doesn’t want to leave, and that moves me.
The first time I met her, she was eight years old — the same age I was when I had to leave Italy after spending my early years in Naples. We had to return to France when my father’s contract ended. Through the ordeal Maria is going through, I am reliving my own experience of leaving Italy. Parting from a place we love, a place we brought to life through our imagination and our games. Leaving behind the playground of our childhood.
