LA CHIMERA

Italy in the 1980s, on the Tyrrhenian coast. Arthur (Josh O’Connor), a Briton and former archaeologist, returns from prison to the small town. He is looking for a woman who is no longer there, and finds her mother Flora (Isabella Rossellini) in her house, along with Italia (Carol Duarte), who works there as a maid and hides her children. And he finds his old gang again, the Tombaroli, tomb raiders who plunder Etruscan graves and sell the finds to fences. Arthur is their most valuable tool: he can sense the graves without being able to explain how. “La Chimera” by Alice Rohrwacher, an Italian film from 2023, follows people who are all chasing a chimera.

The Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, who grew up in Etruria, where grave finds and grave robbing were part of everyday life, shot with the cinematographer Hélène Louvart on three formats: 35mm for the grand images, Super 16 for the narrative, 16mm for documentary detail. Co-produced with France and Switzerland. It premiered in competition at Cannes 2023; the European Film Awards gave it the award for best production design, alongside thirteen David di Donatello nominations. “La Chimera” opened Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2023 as the Opening Night.

Shown at the 2023 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2023 · Film Archive