“LADIES & GENTLEMAN,
COMEWELL, SEARCHWELL, DREAMWELL!”
THE FISH DOCTOR / SHORTFILM / 2018 / 16’
WRITTEN BY Susanna della Sala and Linda della Sala
DIRECTED BY Susanna della Sala
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Andrea Josè di Pasquale
EDITED BY Niccolò Notario
THE FISH DOCTOR/ Giorgio Cantarini
TV SHOW HOST/ David Kirk Taylor
TV SHOW PRODUCER/ Kara Cavenaugh
TV SHOW ASSISTANT/ Haroun Fall
FISH LADY/ Margherita Fumero
WRITTEN BY Susanna della Sala and Linda della Sala
DIRECTED BY Susanna della Sala
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Andrea Josè di Pasquale
EDITED BY Niccolò Notario
THE FISH DOCTOR/ Giorgio Cantarini
TV SHOW HOST/ David Kirk Taylor
TV SHOW PRODUCER/ Kara Cavenaugh
TV SHOW ASSISTANT/ Haroun Fall
FISH LADY/ Margherita Fumero
︎ VIEW TRAILER ︎
SCREENER LINK UPON REQUEST
Luigi is the owner of what appears to be a fish shop. Two TV producers discover the strange little shop, and intrigued by his activity, they invite the quirky man to their freak TV show but Luigi will manage to turn everyone into silent fish.
PRIZES
︎ 2019 LADY FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL, LOS ANGELES -BEST FOREIGN SHORTFILM
︎ 2018 EDERA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY - NOMINATION JURY PRIZE
︎ 2018 ECOFESTIVAL PESIO - BEST SHORTFILM
︎ 2018 IL CINEMATOGRAFO, ITALY - PECIAL JURY PRIZE
FESTIVALS
2017 AFRODITE SHORTS, ITALY
2017 LEIDEN INT. SHORT FILM EXPERIENCE, THE NETHERLANDS
2018 VAUGHAN FILM FESTIVAL, CANADA
2018 SARDINIA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 POP CORN FESTIVAL DEL CORTO, ITALY
2018 ARIANO INT. FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 CISTERNA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 MOLISECINEMA, ITALY
2018 CINEMADAMARE, ITALY
2018 CORTI IN OPERA, ITALY
2018 KAZAN INT. FESTIVAL OF MUSLIM CINEMA, RUSSIA
2018 VIDEOCORTO NETTUNO, ITALY
2018 CORTI IN CORTILE, ITALY
2018 GARGANO FILMFEST, ITALY
2018 FARM FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
THE DIRECTOR THINKS...
The Fish Doctor is the first shortfilm of a trilogy called “The trilogy of Silence”.
I thought about how we always try to surround ourselves with sounds, images, words so we don’t have face the solitude of silence. My films always start from doodles and sketches. I started doodling a bizarre character surrounded by silent fish. He lives isolated in his own bubble where he spends his time thinking, observing and listening.
Fish are thinkers,
Fish are philosophers,
Fish have no ears because they don’t need to talk, they listen
Fish never close their eyes even when they die because they observe.
Fish don’t age…or at least we don’t see it.
Fish live in a parallel world made of apparent suspension from pain.
SCREENER LINK UPON REQUEST
Luigi is the owner of what appears to be a fish shop. Two TV producers discover the strange little shop, and intrigued by his activity, they invite the quirky man to their freak TV show but Luigi will manage to turn everyone into silent fish.
PRIZES
︎ 2019 LADY FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL, LOS ANGELES -BEST FOREIGN SHORTFILM
︎ 2018 EDERA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY - NOMINATION JURY PRIZE
︎ 2018 ECOFESTIVAL PESIO - BEST SHORTFILM
︎ 2018 IL CINEMATOGRAFO, ITALY - PECIAL JURY PRIZE
FESTIVALS
2017 AFRODITE SHORTS, ITALY
2017 LEIDEN INT. SHORT FILM EXPERIENCE, THE NETHERLANDS
2018 VAUGHAN FILM FESTIVAL, CANADA
2018 SARDINIA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 POP CORN FESTIVAL DEL CORTO, ITALY
2018 ARIANO INT. FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 CISTERNA FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
2018 MOLISECINEMA, ITALY
2018 CINEMADAMARE, ITALY
2018 CORTI IN OPERA, ITALY
2018 KAZAN INT. FESTIVAL OF MUSLIM CINEMA, RUSSIA
2018 VIDEOCORTO NETTUNO, ITALY
2018 CORTI IN CORTILE, ITALY
2018 GARGANO FILMFEST, ITALY
2018 FARM FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY
THE DIRECTOR THINKS...
The Fish Doctor is the first shortfilm of a trilogy called “The trilogy of Silence”.
I thought about how we always try to surround ourselves with sounds, images, words so we don’t have face the solitude of silence. My films always start from doodles and sketches. I started doodling a bizarre character surrounded by silent fish. He lives isolated in his own bubble where he spends his time thinking, observing and listening.
Fish are thinkers,
Fish are philosophers,
Fish have no ears because they don’t need to talk, they listen
Fish never close their eyes even when they die because they observe.
Fish don’t age…or at least we don’t see it.
Fish live in a parallel world made of apparent suspension from pain.
WRITER & DIRECTOR
I’m an Italian writer, director and artist. Starting out as a doodler in the marshlands of the Po Valley, I found in filmmaking my most sincere and highest vocation. I graduated in Interior Design at Politecnico di Milano and at the Italian national film school Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
I gained experience working in the art department of several international film productions. I write, direct and sometimes perform in my films.
My path isn’t exactly traditional and linear. I have a strong predisposition for multidisciplinary and currently work as a director, writer, editor, set designer and illustrator. In the past I have worked as an interior designer, dancer and welder. Thanks to the work experience gained on film sets, I had the opportunity to discover directing which seemed to me to be the perfect synthesis between the roles of artist and technician, creator and professional.
Most of my films start from doodles and sketches. I like to invent worlds and characters, trying to tell unconventional and extraordinary human stories. I have always been interested in the theme of outsiders, marginalized individuals who, by choice or necessity, lead their lives far from a traditional society. My films The Fish Doctor, Wasteplanet, Last Stop before Chocolate Mountain and Wigs explore these themes.
In my creative process I tend to look for the magical and surreal element to underline the emotional and poetic aspect of the story and the character. I like to reinterpret the metaphorical element through a visual style often characterized by magical realism and fantastic elements.
Last Stop Before Chocolate Mountain is my latest project – a documentary born from personal life experience that both tells the story and captures the spirit of Bombay Beach, a once abandoned town in the harsh California desert, where art heals people in the most unexpected ways. The film was selected to premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022, it won 3 prizes at the Italian festival dei Popoli in Florence and it was shortlisted for the Italian Academy award David di Donatello in the Best Documentary category.