JEAN VIGO ITALIA S.R.L.
Thanks to its constant work throughout the years, Jean Vigo Italia S.r.l. has reached an important position among Italian independent producers. The company has successfully realized many projects and has obtained prestigious awards in Italy and abroad. At the same time, its precise production policy results in a strong identity and coherence.
The challenge for the future is to produce works that continue to encounter the favour of the public – to which they are destined by their own nature – and still maintain the identity, coherence and passion that have been so far a distinctive sign of the company.
The origin of Jean Vigo Italia S.r.l. is Cooperativa Jean Vigo, established in 1976 to produce the film Forza Italia!, a satirical and cruel portrait of the Christian Democratic party that was prevailing at that time. Oddly enough, the title coincides with the name of the political party founded many years later by Silvio Berlusconi, with whom the film has obviously nothing to do.
Despite its success, Forza Italia! was withdrawn from the Italian theatres on 16 March 1978, the day when Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democratic party, was kidnapped by the Red Brigades who killed the five policemen escorting him. During his captivity, before being killed by the terrorists, Aldo Moro mentioned Forza Italia! in one of his letters, saying that people should see it to become aware of the ruthlessness of his fellow party members.
After this first experience, Cooperativa Jean Vigo started to develop the production of quality films, expressing different and controversial points of view, in line with the message of Jean Vigo, the French director after whom it is named, author of unforgettable films on freedom such as A propos de Nice, Zéro de conduite, L’Atalante.
Among the works realized over the years, often through international co-productions: Maledetti vi amerò (To Love the Damned), the directorial debut of Marco Tullio Giordana; Le chiavi di casa (The Keys to the House) by Gianni Amelio; many of the films by Roberto Faenza, from Sostiene Pereira (According to Pereira) to Prendimi l’anima (The Soul Keeper) until the recent I Vicerè (The Viceroys) and The Case of the Unfaithful Klara; I Demoni di San Pietroburgo (The Demons of St Petersburg), by Giuliano Montaldo; in addition to a number of documentaries ranging from the Prague Spring to gipsy music to a very peculiar lecture on the Italian Constitution.
Jean Vigo Italia is currently engaged in the pre-production of a motion picture based on the beautiful novel by the American writer Peter Cameron, Someday this Pain will be Useful to you, to be shot in 2009.
The company is also starting a production line of low budget films to enable new authors to express their talent not only for cinema, but also for TV and other media.