In this podcast we discuss Maria Giménez Cavallo's concept of 'cinema dell'anima', (Cinema of the Soul), an idea triggered by three Italian films from the last two decades. Maria's concept has three elements and she highlights a film for each: transcendental - ' Le Quattro Volte' (2010) directed by Michelangelo Frammartino; posthumanism - 'Bella e Perduta' (2015) directed by Pietro Marcello; poetic realism - 'Lazzaro Felice' (2018) directed by Alice Rohrwacher. Maria outlines the story of each film and the aspects that support her thesis and we go on to discuss other films that can be categorised in this way and writers who have influenced Maria's thinking, including Paul Schrader's book 'Transcendental style in film' and Gilles Deleuze's Cinema 2, and other directors. Maria also speaks about having worked with Marcello and Rohrwacher on their recent documentary 'Futura' and how filming in Sardinia led to her own first feature 'Anime Galleggianti' (Wandering Souls) a reimagining of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', and she also talks about her upcoming film.

Participants:

Maria Giménez Cavallo, director, writer. https://animafilms.net/maria-gimenez-cavallo/

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

To view Maria's film, 'Anime Galleggianti' contact Maria via the email address on her website.

Maria's video essay: https://animafilms.net/cinema-dellanima/.

The films discussed: Le Quattro Volte ( Michelangelo Frammartino, 2010): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646975/

Bella e Perduta (Pietro Marcello, 2015): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2188860/?ref_=fn_t_1

Lazzaro Felice (Alice Rohrwacher, 2018): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6752992/?ref_=fn_i_1

Paul Schrader's 'Transcendental style in film': https://www.ucpress.edu/books/transcendental-style-in-film/paper

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Artwork by KB

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank Burke is a leading film scholar with a long interest in Italian director Federico Fellini (1920-1993). Few artists were more obsessed with their dreams than Fellini. In this conversation we talk about his early interest in puppets and circus, and his jobs, before moving into film, as an illustrator and caracaturist. Drawing was always an important part of his preparation for movies but he also kept a graphic, drawn dream diary in the '60s and '70s, at the suggestion of Jungian analyst Ernst Bernhard. We discuss his interest in the work of another analyst, James Hillman who leaned more to the mystical and symbolic, and explore the recurring themes in those diaries (published postumously). Films in which dreams feature large are also discussed - we mention several but we focus on four including the feted 'Eight and a half'( 1963) and the vilified 'City of Women' (1980). To close Frank suggests movies that listeners new to Fellini may watch as an as a way into his work (depending on their interests and state of intoxication).

Participants:

Frank Burke, Independent film scholar and Professor Emeritus, Department of Film and Media, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. https://www.queensu.ca/filmandmedia/people-search/frank-burke

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist: http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk

More on Federico Fellini: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Fellini

Some films discussed:

Eight and a Half: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/

Juliet of the spirits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059229/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_in_0_q_%2520%2520Juliet%2520of%2520the%2520spirits

City of Women: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080539/

More on James Hillman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_HillmanParticipant:

More on Carlos Castaneda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda

A version of this conversation was first released on the Brainland podcast in November 2025 (https://shows.acast.com/brainland)

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown

Collage by KB illustration

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing the Capolavoro podcast: 20 movies from 20 different directors, from Luchino Visconti’s influential 1943‘Ossessione’ to Maura Delpero’s brilliant 2024 ‘Vermiglio’. If you want to know more about post-war Italian cinema the Capolavoro podcast is a great place to start.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film and the movie poster we discussed: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.