A circular story that begins and ends in Ulassai, the village in the wild heart of Sardinia where the artist Maria Lai (1919-2013) was born and where she returned to live during the last years of her life after being “in the world”. The documentary film is the reconstruction of her extraordinary figure as a woman and as an artist, through the voices of friends, collaborators, artists, and art historians.
The film is the rediscovery of a very rich and unique artistic production: from the naturalism of the beginnings, through the turning point of the Sixties – with “Looms”, “Sewn Canvas”, “Loaves", "Scriptures" – to "Bonded to the Mountain", the happening made with the citizens of Ulassai in 1981, which anticipated the concept of "relational art", a key artistic wave of the late Twentieth century. It is also a journey into Ulassai today, where Maria Lai's art still lives: in the memory of the inhabitants, in the museum of contemporary art Stazione dell'Arte, in the public artworks scattered throughout the town, and in the precipitous trails whose names she has chosen.
Credits
Written and directed by Maddalena Bregani
Scientific consultant: Davide Mariani
Executive production: Paolo Soravia
Shooting: Gaetano Crivaro, Nicola Contini, Davide Rusconi, Stefano Santamato, Stefano Totaro
Sound: Edoardo Sirocchi, Luca Discenza, Matteo Incollu, Davide Rusconi, Stefano Santamato
Editing: Pietro Daviddi
Music: Paolo Angeli, Paolo Fresu, Eugenio Mazzetto, Marisa Sannia, Stefano Tore
Year: 2020
Length: 55’30”
A production: LaGalla23
In collaboration with Stazione dell’Arte di Ulassai (NU) museum and Archivio Maria Lai
Sponsored by Sardeolica
