Carolina Cavalli is among the winners at the Spirits Awards, the awards that Hollywood assigns to the best independent productions.
In Los Angeles, the Italian author - who she had impressed in 2022 with her directorial debut Amanda, presented in Venice and award-winning - raised the trophy for having co-written Fremont, the black and white film which counts in the cast also Jeremy Allen White.
Directed by Babak Jalali, it is the story of a young Afghan woman refugee near San Francisco: she is alone and without support, she works in a fortune cookie factory.
When the person in charge of writing the messages to include in her sweets dies, she takes her place and sends a cookie with her phone number into the world.
Her life, of course, will change forever.
"None of us expected this award, it was a surprise for everyone," he tells ANSA, referring to his companions in this cinematic undertaking rewarded with the John Cassavetes award for the best film of 2023 produced for less than 1 million dollars .
"When you start working on such a small project, you don't expect such a big result, you don't dare hope that it can touch so many people", says Cavalli, whose debut with Amanda with Benedetta Porcaroli as protagonist, in addition to Venice and then at the Toronto earned her a nomination for best emerging director at the David di Donatello awards and enthusiastic reviews in the New York Times and the American trade press.
Born in Milan 30 years ago, she studied philosophy in Paris, but then changed direction: "What gives me the most relief is writing and being in a cinema. I tried to combine the two things and transform them into a job."
The friendship and collaboration with Jalali, director, screenwriter and producer born in Iran but raised in London, did the rest.
"We wrote Fremont several years ago. I think it's one of the first screenplays I signed. Babak brought his culture, his experience; I love female protagonists, stories of interior solitude. Each of us brought a piece of his world in a territory that we would not have felt comfortable exploring on our own".
Production began in 2021, when Allen White, known then for his role in the series Shameless (Chef Carmy from The Bear would arrive on Hulu the following summer) read the script and came on board with enthusiasm: "It's It was a wonderful gift. She starred alongside Anaita Wali Zada, who is Afghan and has a similar background to the protagonist, but is a first-time actress. We shot in less than 20 days in Fremont, south of San Francisco. She's the magic of independent cinema: no constraints, maximum freedom, but limited means. Result? Lots of adrenaline and desire to bring the film home."
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