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PRODUCTION TEAM
Director :
Pupi Avati
Script :
Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati
Photography :
Cesare Bastelli
Editor :
Amedeo Salfa
Cast :
Gianni Cavina, Valentina Cervi, Carlo Delle Piane, Libero De Rienzo, Eliana Miglio, Chiara Muti, Paola Saluzzi, Mario Maranzana, Teresa Ricci, Tony Santagata, Cinzia Mascoli
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MIDSUMMER NIGHT DANCE
Every spring, like a splendid secret rite, time stops for the men of the mountain and the women of the plain. It's time for the "dance", and it is held, as always, for as long as anyone can remember, outdoors, down in the valley, on the magical first Saturday of the season. Time stops for the men of the mountain, in village after village, in each isolated community, as they put down their tools and ploughs, but most of all set aside the weight of their solitude, the loneliness of those long mountain winters. Suddenly their hearts are light and gay, filled with the kind of joy that only the hope of love, of a woman's touch and smiling eyes, can bring. Sure enough they soon see the familiar figure from down in the valley come huffing and puffing up the mountain, drumming up business, knowing even before he asks that he would sign them all up. And, of course, no price is too high for the hope of finding a good woman. This year they hear that even the lonely doctor is among those signing up. The dance floor down in the valley is where he had found his wife, and lost her too, fifteen long years ago. They look at the dance organizer with a bit of envy, for he has actually seen the women, each and every one, from the hopeful virgins to the merry widows. There is a a fever, an electricity in the air when he appears to announce this year's dance, a promise of romance and the hope of a spring that will last forever.
Pupi Avati
Born in Bologna in 1938, Pupi Avati studied political science at the University of Florence, joined a jazz band as a clarinettist in the mid-1950s and founded a production company with his brother Antonio. Together they produced, wrote and directed BALSAMUS, L'UOMO DI SATANA (1968), one of the first Italian regional films. He has since directed a wide spectrum of films ranging from thrillers and horror films to lavish historical dramas. He has also worked as a screenwriter for Pier Paolo Pasolini, among others. His films include: THOMAS (1969), LA MAZURKA DEL BARONE (1974), MISTRESS (1975), HELP ME DREAM (1980), ZEDER (1982), WE THREE (1984), FESTA DI LAUREA (1985), BIX (1990), BROTHERS AND SISTERS (1992), MAGNIFICAT (1993), DECLARATIONS OF LOVE (1994), MYSTERIOUS ENCHANTER (1995) and THE BEST MAN (1997).
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