For regular watches of SBS television, one of the guests at this year’s Lavazza Italian film festival should be a familiar face. Luca Zingaretti stars in the popular Italian crime show, 'Inspector Montalbano'.
One of the most talented actors in Italy, besides playing Montalbano he has also starred in a string of movies, including two of which will be showing at the film festival, 'Perez' and 'Partly Cloudy With Sunny Spells'.
This is Luca’s first time in Australia, but it is a trip that he had dreamed about for many years. “For at least ten years I wanted to come to Australia but I never had the time because I’m always working these last years. Five years ago I received a script for a scene to shoot in Australia, but I couldn’t come, because I still was working.
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“And finally I’m here, I’m father of a 45-day-old child, but my wife said 'OK, go alone, but go, because it’s your big wish'. So I’m here, I’m happy and I hope to come back to this fantastic country, also as a tourist, but my first hope is as an actor. But if not, I want absolutely to come back here with all my family.”
'Inspector Montalbano' has had a lot of success in many different countries, including Australia. Luca describes how he first came to know how popular the show was in Australia. “I was in Rome when a group of Australian tourists stopped in front of me, they started screaming, I remember that I said 'what’s happened, what do you want from me?' And then they explained to me that they watch 'Montalbano' in Australia,” Luca recalls with a laugh. “I have to say that in that case it was a big surprise and also a big pleasure I must say.”
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Luca is a graduate of Italy’s most prestigious drama institutions, The National Academy Of Dramatic Arts. He's loved acting since he was a child but had never seriously considered doing it professionally until a friend asked him to audition with him to gain entry into the academy. Reluctant at first, he ended up going. As it turned out, Luca was successful in getting admitted but his friend was not so lucky. “So then it was like a responsibility, and I decide to go to straight away and study in the academy,” Luca says.
His first foray into acting was in the theatre, which is something that is still very close to his heart, and which he makes a point of returning to every couple of years. “I think the real training for an actor is the theatre, I need to come back to theatre every two years, because it’s like going back to school.
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“You have the audience there and you can feel the energy of the people. How your job affects the audience, how the audience give you back the energy. It’s something really important for an actor. I think to work in theatre or, like in my case if you go to do television or cinema, come back to school and just do theatre each one or two years.”
As for films playing at the film festival he recommends, Luca has a hard time deciding on just a few but he clearly has a favourite. “I think the best Italian movie of this year, and is also in the Italian Film Festival Of Australia, is ‘Black Souls’. I loved so much this film, it won a lot of awards in Italy... 'Mia Madre', 'Tale Of Tales', I have to say that it was a very good year for the Italian movie.”
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Italian Film Festival Dates
15 September – 11 October (Sydney)16 September – 11 October (Melbourne)
17 September – 7 October (Adelaide)
22 September – 11 October (Canberra)
24 September – 14 October (Perth)
1-18 October (Brisbane)
15-21 October (Hobart)
