18 | ARTICLE
ICFF 2022
IN CONSTANT MOTION: CLAUDIA GERINI by Tonia Serrao Soppelsa It must be said that Claudia Gerini is one of the best known and prolific actresses on the Italian film scene today. Born in Rome in 1971, Gerini made her film debut at just 17 years of age. Her first appearance on the big screen came with Viaggi di Nozze by Carlo Verdone, and from that moment on she has never looked back. A particular beauty with a keen mind and vivacious personality, Gerini has had a long and varied career that has earned her notable success in Italy and abroad.
Equally at home on the stage as in film, Gerini first appeared when she was 22 years old in the show “Angelo e Beatrice“ by Francesco Apolloni. It was where she was first noticed by Verdone. More recently in 2015, she returned to the stage with the one-woman show “Storie di Claudia,“ written and directed by Giampiero Solari, a musical which highlighted all her skills: dance, singing and acting. In film Claudia Gerini has acted in some of the most interesting projects of contemporary Italian cinema, such as “La Sconosciuta“ by Giuseppe Tornatore, “Non ti muovere“ by Sergio Castellitto, “Una famiglia perfetta“ by Paolo Genovese, “Diverso da chi“ by Umberto Carteni, and many others. Earlier this year, “Mancino Naturale“ arrived in theatres; a film that brings Claudia Gerini back to the big screen as a single mother who dreams of a future in the world of soccer for her son. The film is directed by Salvatore Allocca and also features Massimo Ranieri among its protagonists. Gerini plays Isabella, a single mother who has been
widowed for a few years. She lives a modest existence in a popular neighbourhood of Latina, together with her son Paolo, named by his father in honour of his soccer idol, Paolo Rossi. Even Paolo, like the great soccer player with whom he shares the name, has an incredible left foot, so much so that Isabella is sure that her son will become a professional player. The film is all built around Isabella, brought to perfection by Claudia Gerini. The mother-child relationship is the beating heart of this story, but the film also includes other universal themes, such as family relationships, love, guilt, redemption, passion for sport and economic difficulties. In this role, Claudia Gerini is masterful and it is not surprising that her Isabella remains the best part of the whole film. Everything can be said about Claudia Gerini except that she is not willing to put herself to the test. In fact, the popular actress, a versatile interpreter of many dramas and comedies, and awarded the David di Donatello for her role in “Ammore e Malavita“ in 2018, has gone
