"Why did I choose my mother for the protagonist of Life Ahead? I had her voice in my head while I was reading Romain Gary's novel. Madame Rosa was her, with her story", says Edoardo Ponti.
The film, a Netflix original produced by Palomar in collaboration with Artemis rising foundation, is in the hypothetical shortlist of the Oscars, in particular there is a lot of talk about an exceptional nomination for Sophia Loren, our biggest star, Oscar in ' 62 for La Ciociara and honorary in '91, which at 86 gave her son director and herself a sensational return on the scene with a painful mater that moved the audiences.
"Inside Madama Rosa there is my mother Romilda, her strength, her tenacity, she lived through terrible moments, war, poverty and I interpreted it feeling like her", she said.
Variety organized for The Life Ahead, a film adaptation of the 1975 novel of the same name, a meeting with the director and author of the screenplay with Ugo Chiti, the singer-songwriter Diane Warren, author of the music for the song IO SÌ (SEEN) interpreted in the film by Laura Pausini.
The previous film by Ponti Coming & Going is from 2011, why all this time?
"Every film has to reflect a part of you," Ponti said.
"It wasn't easy to find something that touched me as deeply and emotionally as it did with Life Ahead, given its themes of tolerance, empathy and humanity."
The story follows the complicated and difficult then very tender relationship between an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor (Sophia Loren) and a former prostitute who, in order to survive the last years of her life, hosts in her small apartment a sort of nursery for children in need and a little boy. migrant from Senegal named Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) who continues to get into trouble and who is entrusted to her by Dr. Cohen, Renato Carpentieri.
Ponti said that while the two characters couldn't be more culturally different, they are just two opposite sides of the same coin.
"They were raised on the streets without a family, defined by pain and loss, but ultimately and most importantly, defined by hope and resilience," Ponti said.
Madame Rosa - Sophia Loren, with all her age and pain experienced, not at all hidden, gives a touching interpretation.
"I like to introduce my mother the way I know her, and this character was a perfect opportunity for that," Ponti said.
"It was the right text both to contextualize my mother as the wonderful actress she is, but also to give the audience something new," she added.
Laura Pausini, who always wanted to sing a "Diane Warren song", recalled how she shivered when they first met.
"I mean - she said in connection - she is Diane Warren and I'm just a singer always looking for music to live, to breathe, to be authentic and you always want the best for your voice and your heart", she called Pausini.
"Diane is a dream, still a dream for me."
(HANDLE).