I dincj de lune
(Italy, 1999) by Lorenzo Bianchini
40’, Italian
A writer travels to a small village in Friuli, in search of materials for her book on local folklore tales. She then finds out that the inhabitants there live in fear of the Beast, which rises in full moon nights to satisfy his lust for blood.
However, it is a well known fact that every legend has a kernel of truth…
Lorenzo Bianchini is a key figure for everyone with an interest in independently produced italian B-movies. I dincj de lune is a medium-length, little-shown film, that nevertheless tells much of his director’s poetics and technical abilities; Friulian language dominates the film as much as the setting, reminescent of Avati’s Padania. Shot on a very low budget, it succedes in creating a breathtaking atmosphere and in arousing secret fears.
Custodes Bestiae
(Italy, 2004) by Lorenzo Bianchini
92’, Italian
Professor Dal Colle recovers, in a church, a mysterious fresco linked to the Inquisition Period. He decides to grant an interviey to a young journalist, but winds up disappearing before they had any chance to talk.
Curious about what Dal Colle was going to reveal him, the journalist starts investigating, only to find out the bewildering truth about the inhabitants of a small village in Friuli.
Custodes Bestiae is the film that consecrated Bianchini as a “Master of Horror” of the 2000s.
Between Lovecraftian references and exquisitly local terrors, the director from Udine has succeded in finding that perfect balance between form and substance, the same one which, even on a low budget, would have led him into directing Occhi and the film that is often considered as his masterpiece, Across the River.
Introduced by film director Lorenzo Bianchini and Focus On curator Raffaelle Meale.