THE INTERVIEW

Celeste Casciaro
Life in the Winspeare household
by Flavia Pankiewicz

Celeste Casciaro on the set of La vita in Comune

“Eufemia is me!”. Celeste Casciaro, principle actor in Edoardo Winspeare’s latest movie, La vita in Comune, as well as being the real-life wife of the director, answers questions without hesitation during the interview for Bridge Puglia USA. And reveals with a pinch of satisfaction that the protagonist of the movie, Eufemia, was based on her. Town alderwoman and grocer, a gentle but strict mother, uncompromising defender of the environment and legality, Eufemia is the strongest and most decisive character in this comedy/fairy-story wholly “made in Salento”– from the set to the dialect – which received eight minutes of applause in Venice.

There are many cases in which movie directors’ muses and favorite leading ladies are their own wives or partners. Rossellini and Bergman, Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, but also our Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi or Micaela Ramazzotti and Paolo Virzì spring to mind .

La vita in comune is your third film, the second one as leading actor. All of them directed by Edoardo Winspeare, your husband. What’s it like to act with him? Do your private lives and work on the set get intertwined?

I began by acting with my husband. Working with him is demanding, but it’s true that things are easier for me because there’s the habit, or an understanding, that means we don’t need to talk too much about the character, the scene or the movie in general. Private and professional life are continually interlinked, and our private life often gets into the film.

You have also acted in the T.V. series called Braccialetti rossi. What is the main difference when you work with another director?

With another director I am one of many actors. My husband has chosen me to be his leading lady; we work on the part for months and I contribute a lot to the script.

How similar are you to the energetic and wilful, sometimes even aggressive, Eufemia?/font>

Very like. That’s my character. It was based on me.

You and Edoardo have made a second film in Lecce dialect, a choice that is becoming his signature style. To what extent do you agree with it? How engaging for the audience is a film in dialect ?

It’s a choice in the direction of authenticity. We all speak the language that comes most naturally to us depending on the context, who we are talking with, the feelings the scene inspires. That’s how we Italians really speak. Of course some members of the audience might have some difficulties understanding, but Edoardo’s audience expects the characters to be like that, spontaneous, true-to-life and plausible, so the choice of language is essential to achieve this effect.

Edoardo’s biggest defect, at work and at home, and his greatest quality?

At home he can be impatient, and at work stubborn. He’s a kind and sensitive man, which sometimes creates misunderstandings. And I must say that his humility surprises me.

What was the experience of the Venice Festival like? What was the most exciting moment?

Wonderful. Of course the official screening in Sala Darsena with 1406 people, but above all after the credits with the extraordinary, endless applause.

Is there an actress that you admire particularly and who represents a point of reference for you?

I admire so many depending on the character they’re playing. For instance, Anna Magnani, Sofia Loren, Valeria Golino, Monica Vitti, Helen Mirren and Mariangela Melato.

What does the professional future hold for Celeste Casciaro?

Na pignata de paseddhi e ciciri e tria… (A pot full of peas, chick peas and pasta…)

La vita in Comune

Director Edoardo Winspeare

La vita in Comune