Lievito madre
During the pandemic period, the rediscovery of bread-making became the prerogative of many. This short film documents the archetypal power of the gesture, actions that human beings do almost unconsciously and that contain a depth and strength that we often do not see, but which is there. The cyclical repetition of the gesture of making bread, the union between the natural elements that are transformed, that through knowledge and know-how become nourishment, both for the body and the spirit. The act becomes, when repeated, a mantra, it generates a balance that leads elsewhere. My elsewhere are the places of the roots of the human being, the places where knowledge is handed down and becomes precious through grandmothers’ tales, life experiences where the theme is bread as a metaphor for sharing. Here I recount my escape from the walls of my home, going up the valley, immersing myself and letting myself be lulled by memories and remaining in a daydream with my eyes turned to the future, rich in treasures to be shared and rediscovered.
*The film was made within the project RESIDENZE IN VIDEO | SEGNINCORTO – Valle Camonica / Patrimonio e Paesaggio competition organised together with the friends of the Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica, managing body of the Cultural District and coordinating body of the UNESCO site and MAB area, and those of the Borgo degli artisti di Bienno (BS). The project is dedicated to the memory of Pierfausto Bettoni, the inspirer and indefatigable animator of the Borgo degli Artisti, who wanted to bring Corto e Fieno to Valle Camonica with conviction and enthusiasm.
Lievito madre
(Sourdough)
by Annamaria Gallo
Italy 2021
13’
Director
Annamaria Gallo, born in 1974, graduated in Painting at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. She lives and works between Sarnico (BG) and Iseo (BS), where she combines her work as an artist with the planning of art workshops aimed above all at children and adolescents. Her activity has always been linked to the workshop activities and sees her engaged in verifying the potential of the themes of encounter and welcome in works of participatory and relational art that are often conceived as real public actions (Intervallo, installation in Piazza della Loggia, Brescia, White Night of Art and Culture 2010 – il Grido, performance event I Love my City, Piazza Tebaldo Brusato, Brescia 2010). Now his work investigates the resilience of materials, paper and textiles; they are works that hold the traces of time in a lyrical and dramatic way, inviting the public to reflect on the passing of life and the consequences of actions (2020/21: exhibition GestoZero. Istantanee 2020 in Brescia, Museo Santa Giulia in Cremona, Museo del Violino, 2020, and in 2021 in Bergamo, Ex Chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena, the solo exhibition Lievito madre in Bunkervik in Brescia and in Casa Valiga in Borgo degli Artisti in Bienno during the cross-border event LoPanNer 2021).
“In my artistic research, I often investigate the theme of time and space in relation to the human being and his surroundings. The media I use are varied, the choice comes from the type of language I want to use, the one that is most effective, visceral, through sculptures, paintings, informal elements and videos, I also believe in the importance of collaboration between people, the work becomes the meeting of several skills. For the making of this video, I collaborated with Daniele, a film student at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Brescia. His path stems from a passion for art and creativity that led him to discover first video as a means of expression and then cinema.”
