Cesare Deve Morire

Alternative title: Caesar Must die
Synopsis: Documentary. A performance of scenes from Julius Caesar by inmates of the Roman maximum security prison Rebibbia. One of them comments: ‘Ever since I discovered art this cell has truly become a prison’. Filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani spent six months following rehearsals for this stage production; their film demonstrates how the universality of Shakespeare’s language helps the actors to understand their roles and immerse themselves in Shakespeare’s interplay of friendship and betrayal, power, dishonesty and violence. The film does not dwell on the crimes the men have committed in their ‘real’ lives, but draws parallels between the play and the contemporary world. The film is shot mainly in black and white.
Language: Italian (Standard)
Country: Italy
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 2012
Duration: 76 mins

Production type: Documentary/Educational/News
Historical period: Contemporary
Plays: Julius Caesar
Subjects: Drama; Shakespeare
Keywords: drama therapy; prisoners; prisons; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Rehearsals; Untrained actors; Auditions

History: Shown in the 2012 London Film Festival.
Awards: Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2012 Berlinale International Film Festival. British film and theatre director Mike Leigh led the judging panel.
Reviews: Philip Kemp, Sight & Sound (vol. 23. no. 3. March 2013, p. 91-2).

Name: New Wave Films
Email: info@newwavefilms.co.uk
Web: http://www.newwavefilms.co.uk/contact.html External site opens in new window
Phone: 020 3178 7096
Fax: 020 3008 6171
Address: 10 Margaret Street
London
W1W 8RL

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British Universities Film & Video Council