zalab film presents

The only feature documentary film set entirely inside an Italian hospital during the first pandemic wave of COVID-19

Director's vision

Whenever I think of a doctor, I think of my mother Silvia, a tireless and generous pediatrician. Since childhood I’ve been fascinated by the way she works, completely dedicated to the care of children. When the pandemic hit Italy and the hospitals began to admit patients in massive waves, I thought of the many Silvias, hard and dedicated workers who make an essential contribution to their community. For this reason I did not want to portray the medical staff as impersonal heroes. Rather, I was interested in grasping the human complexity. The key feature of this complex situation was the isolation of patients, a condition equally painful for the patients as for the medical staff. The way workers and patients were able to manage unbearable situation with a great dignity is a the center of the project. Since I had no time for location surveys, I had to write the story while filming it together with my mate and DoP Luca Gennari. From the first days of shooting I decided it was going to be a collective story. Hence, the leading role is played by the entire community of medical staff and their patients. I chose to film from the point of view of an eyewitness, like if I were one of the protagonists. I prefer not to define or impose a rigid point of view in my films, because I’d like the audience to be the more free as possible to interpret what they are watching.

Film Crew

Director – Michele Aiello
Subject – Michele Aiello and Luca Gennari
Photography – Luca Gennari
Editing and Color – Corrado Iuvara
Soundtrack – Francesco Ambrosini
Sound Editing – Massimo Mariani Fullcode SAS
Produced by Michele Aiello, Luca Gennari and Zalab Film
With the support of RCE Foto Verona and Comune di Brescia Film Commission
In partnership with FNOMCEO and FNOPI

Director
Michele Aiello
Subject
Michele Aiello e Luca Gennari
Photography
Luca Gennari
Editing and Color
Corrado Iuvara
Soundtrack
Francesco Ambrosini
Sound Editing
Massimo Mariani Fullcode SAS
Produced by
Michele Aiello, Luca Gennari e Zalab Film
With the support of
RCE Foto Verona e Comune di Brescia Film Commission
In partnership with
FNOMCEO and FNOPI

Il regista Michele Aiello e il direttore della fotografia Luca Gennari sulla scena del film Io Resto

Biographies

Michele Aiello: borned in Verona (1987) is a director of documentary films and Participatory Video expert. He has a degree in International Relations. Filmography: My Place is Here (2021), One Day the Night (2019), School of Their Own (2016)
Luca Gennari: borned in Forlì (1984) is a working cinematographer making narrative and commercial films. He trained with Giuseppe Rotunno (AIC, ASC) and Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci (AIC). He graduated in The National Film and Television School (CSC), in 2012. Filmography: My Place is Here (2021), Rigoletto (2020), Novorossiya (2020), One Day the Night (2020), Joseph’s Journey (2019)

synopsis

Brescia, Italy, 26th March 2020. After a month since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, just one crew manages to enter one of the worst hit hospitals in Italy at the time. For 30 days, Michele Aiello modestly films the unprecedented and indispensable relationships that unite the patients and healthcare staff. With a delicate direct cinema approach, the film asserts the humanity that permeates relationships within the hospital and, for the first time, observes new burdens and luminous gestures that make the medical staff and the COVID-19 patients emotionally survive. Even if it is painful at times, My Place Is Here brings an intimate dimension to this slice of raw reality, far removed from voyeurism, from heroic apology or from the usual anxiety-inducing media representation.