Italian performance artist, Anna Redi instructed a virtual workshop under the title “Contemporary Acting Methods in Children and Youth Cinema” on Monday, the second day of ICFF, the 33rd ICFF Public Relations Office reports.
This Italian artist spoke about her admiration for Iran as a lovely country which has a rich culture and great artists and filmmakers such as Asghar Farhadi.
Redi explained how she helped the child actor of Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio to land the role from among 5000 children. She talked about how much Federico (the child actor) wanted to be an actor and emphasized that it is important that one really wants to do the job and enjoys doing it. ‘One should primarily know that choosing this position as their main career in life is not easy at all’. She recommended a technique and that was to try to have a more flexible body.
She also referred to the technique of remembering she uses for adults. In this technique, the actor tries to remember a sad or terrifying incident and rebuilds the emotions. However, for children, crying, reflecting and psychological methods do not work and may even be destructive. So, she focuses on building a connection between the child and his or her co-star through which the child can be drifted towards that tragic moment.
Redi emphasized the importance of staying focused and developing a strong connection with the director. ‘The actor should feel happy and calm inside even if they are playing a tragic scene’, she said. Intimacy among the cast members was another point Redi referred to. This intimacy lets the actor show their vulnerability and pain, she believed.
‘You should be precise, practice a lot and ask questions. I recommend that you work on your body language; focus on your breathing and do relaxing exercise. That is the way I can use my body and emotions when I’m facing others, and in this way, you can convey your main idea and your personal point of view’, she continued.
Addressing the audience she said, ‘your eyes are windows to your emotions and that is why your thoughts and emotions seem so alive. But you should use your eyes in the right way. Try to make yourself comfortable and free so that you can connect with your character. The moment you discover your turning point you can move. Thinking and looking give you freedom of action. Such a thing happened in “My Brilliant Friend” too, since everybody felt comfortable there and interacted freely with their director and trainer’.
At the end of the workshop a Q&A session was also virtually held with the workshop participants.
Due to the outbreak of the new Corona Virus, based on the multilateral agreement made by the Iranian Cinema Organization, Farabi Cinematic Foundation and Isfahan Municipality, this edition of the festival is being held virtually from October 18 to 23, 2020 under the supervision of Alireza Tabesh.
The Festival is organized in a competitive format in two different sections; Iranian Cinema Competition and International Cinema Competition.