by Micol Sarfatti
The actor of “Survivors” narrates the new production of Rai1, which will be broadcast from October 3rd and in which he is the protagonist. An international co-production written by young people and aimed at the audience of the platform. With special effects
A series that crosses genres – adventure, mystery, thriller – and combines them with an implementation with spectacular special effects. Survivors, a co-production between Rai, German public television Zdf and France Télévision, which will air in six prime-time episodes on Rai from October 3rd, tells the story of a shipwreck off the Canary Islands and the desperation of families the disappearance and sudden and unexpected return of some of them. It’s impossible not to think of pillars of American series like Lost or Homeland, but here the writers and actors are all Italian and, in some cases, very young. The project is signed by a group of students of the Master of Serial Writing organized by Rai Fiction, in collaboration with the Italian Center for Higher Studies for the Training and Updating of Radio and TV Journalism in Perugia, with the support of the Audiovisual Producers Association (APA ). Directed by Carmine Elia, author of hits like Mare Inside and La dama velata. “I first read the Survivors script between 2018 and 2019,” says Lino Guanciale, who plays Luca Giuliani, one of the series’ protagonists. «I understood immediately that this is an important production with a high budget and an excellent script».
A pleasant cross section, then the drama
In addition to Guanciale, the cast also includes Barbara Bobulova, Stéfi Celma, Luca Biagini and Elena Radonicich. The plot centers on a useful crossing with a futuristic ship built by the Leone shipyards, an important Genoese naval reality. The boat is named Arianna, after the owner’s daughter, who died of a tumor at a young age. She was also a close friend of Luca Giuliani, Leone’s engineer, a distinguished family man and skipper who will lead the navigation. On board are 12 people, including actress Giulia Morena (Barbara Bobulova), testimonial of the initiative, with her husband and son, a video maker who will shoot content to post on social networks, a ship’s doctor. Some know the sea, some don’t. The mood at the farewell is cheerful, only a little melancholy clouds the memory of Arianna. Nothing indicates what will happen after a few days of navigation. Off the Canary Islands, the boat disappears from radar and is hit by the perfect storm. Nothing more is known about the crew for a year. Only six people are found alive on a Caribbean island and with them a German who had not left Genoa with the others.
A strange redemption
However, the second life of the survivors turns out to be more painful and complex than expected. Family relationships are disturbed, fear does not leave them. Everything that happened during the months of the shipwreck is mysterious and complex. The joy of finding home and returning soon gives way to a harsh reality. Not only is the existence the castaways left behind no longer the same, they also appear to be different people in the eyes of their loved ones. what are they hiding What happened this year? What is she expecting? “Each character experiences a break between what happened before and after the crossing,” explains Guanciale, “for months they have to grapple with the thought of having lost everything and then suddenly they find it again, but nothing is the same before . I think viewers can relate to that. It is obvious that no one can have experienced a shipwreck of this kind, but the series tells interesting and translatable emotions in everyday life». “This role was a big challenge for me,” the actor continues, “also physically. I’ve lost 20 pounds from scripting requirements, but I have to admit, also from stress and exertion. Luca seems, at least in the first phase, to be a character without a shadow, determined, with a job he loves and a nice family. It is precisely the thought of his wife and children that makes him resist in the months of the shipwreck. He is the leader of the group, the one who gives strength to others. There is a scene in which the now too thin wedding ring slips off his fingers and he then ties it around his neck and turns it into a kind of amulet. When he returns, however, he has to fight the pain again. We told of a journey into the horizon of existential precariousness. Something that affects everyone ».
special effects
Survivors is aimed at traditional rai fiction audiences, but also at younger audiences used to the seriality of big platforms. Lino Guanciale focuses on the imaginative effort required to interpret events that, of course, never happened to any of the performers: “A big help was the makeup, every morning we had at least two hours of preparation that helped us identify us in the part”. The most complex scene from a production and special effects point of view was precisely that of the shipwreck. The sequence was shot using a real boat, even larger than the one used for the sea scenes off the coast of Genoa, the was mounted on a tilting platform at the Tiburtina film studios in Rome. The filming of this part took a month and a half, with eight days devoted entirely to the moments of the storm. “We are used to moving on stable surfaces and acting accordingly” , explains Guanciale. «Here we lost all points of reference, but it was the moment that most excited us on the set united. We shot in full pandemic, between the different lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 ». Lino Guanciale also dedicates a reflection to those who have to face really dangerous crossings: “I have been ambassador of UNHCR Italy for years. While playing Luca Giuliani, I couldn’t help but think about who is putting their lives and hopes for a better future at sea ».
October 2, 2022 (change October 2, 2022 | 08:28)
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