Actress Micaela Ramazzotti is spending a relaxed summer in Maratea, enjoying the sea with her partner Claudio Pallitto and their blended family of teenage daughters. This respite comes as she awaits the release of her deeply personal project, Stefano Casertano’s film “La guerra di Elena” (Elena’s War), potentially premiering at the Rome Film Fest, and prepares for two secretive autumn acting roles while developing her second directorial feature following her debut “Felicità” (Happiness).
“Right now I’m serene,” Ramazzotti told ANSA. “I’m living a phase of maturity, less anxious than I’ve always been, more ‘chill’ as the girls would say.” She credits this break, including days at the Marateale festival where she was honoured, as deserved after immense dedication to “Elena’s War”. “I trained incredibly hard. I have a personal trainer at home – Claudio trained me every morning,” she remarked wryly. “He took me to Caffarella Park in Rome, rain or shine; I looked like Rocky. Then there was the deep commitment to studying the character, Elena Di Porto, whose memory we restore.”
Mastering the nearly extinct Roman Jewish dialect (“giudaico romanesco”) spoken in wartime Rome proved a significant challenge. “I thought being Roman, even from a distant suburb like Axa, it would be easy. Not at all! I made myself ill learning it,” she admitted.
“La guerra di Elena” marks Casertano’s directorial debut. “I’ve accepted many first films in my career; I take big risks, but if the story is there, I dive in. It always comes first for me,” stated Ramazzotti. She was captivated by Elena Di Porto: “The more I read about her, the more I fell in love. She was wild, generous, courageous, rebellious. I’d never played a woman like this before. Finally, I could explore less fragile, less problematic aspects of femininity.”
She described Di Porto as a “guerrilla fighter, a beast,” who wore trousers when it was unusual, left her husband long before divorce was legal, boxed men in trattorias to defend her ghetto community, and openly challenged the Nazis. Paola Minaccioni is currently portraying the same historical figure on stage. “I applauded her at Sala Umberto; her ‘crazy’ Elena moved me,” Ramazzotti said.
Hoping for a festival berth, likely Rome, around the October 16th anniversary of the ghetto raid, Ramazzotti expressed confidence in the director and cast (including Valerio Aprea and Giulia Bevilacqua): “Festivals are extremely helpful. I’m still grateful to Venice’s Orizzonti section for showcasing ‘Felicità’.”
Reflecting on directing “Felicità”, she called it “a turning point, absolutely. A huge boost of self-esteem. Making a film exactly as I wanted, with a story hiding a personal heart, with actors like Max Tortora and Anna Galiena who trusted me from the start… It was liberating: I did it! It also shattered a prejudice I felt about myself.”
Regarding her amicable separation from Paolo Virzì and co-parenting their children, Ramazzotti stated: “I take things as they come; that’s life. Our beloved children aren’t the first to experience the pain of separation; gradually they understand, and it’s already better. Being attentive, understanding, educating parents is key.” She noted strict limits on social media and smartphone use for her children, acknowledging future challenges as they grow older.
On female empowerment in Italian cinema, particularly noting no women-directed films in Venice’s main competition this year, Ramazzotti acknowledged: “It’s an uphill battle, but progress has been made. When I think of films I’ve loved most recently, only women directors come to mind – Valeria Golino, Paola Cortellesi, Francesca Comencini whose ‘Il tempo che ci vuole’ I adored immensely. At Venice in Orizzonti, there are ‘Cavalli’ and ‘Samani’ – I look forward to them.”
Asked about female solidarity in the industry, she described herself as “truly a lone wolf,” with few cinema friends, though citing a close female cinematographer.
Regarding her next directing project, Ramazzotti revealed: “I’ve written, jotted down ideas. I’ll start work after summer, with female screenwriters. Collaborating with women seems to work better for me – it’s like psychotherapy.”
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