On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of the Renaissance genius, the Morgan Library presents a preview of the film "Being Leonardo da Vinci" by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory (October, 9 2018) Also, don’t miss the historical re-enactment in costumes dedicated to Leonardo during the Columbus Day parade on Fifth Avenue (October, 8 2018)
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Actor, playwright, and director Massimiliano Finazzer Flory has a special relationship with the Big Apple. His artistic presence here in New York has been various over the years.
This October he will present in different venues the project "Being Leonardo da Vinci" together with the Region of Lombardy, the Municipality of Milan and Stelline Foundation.
The occasion is the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci—perhaps the greatest artistic genius in history. At the Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, Massimiliano Finazzer Flory will parade as Leonardo himself, in a historical re-enactment in Renaissance costumes made by the Association Sforzinda of Vigevano. He will also present the preview of the short film "Being Leonardo da Vinci" to a selected audience at the Morgan Library & Museum and the tickets are already sold out. Actor and Director John Turturro and the noted architect Daniel Libeskind, among others, congratulated Finazzer for his job. “They regret they will not be able to attend the screening,” he told us.
The Morgan Library & Museum was not chosen by chance: it preserves, among other things, a selection of paintings from the Italian Renaissance including a rare drawing by Leonardo. The screening will be held at the auditorium The Gilder Lehrman Hall designed by architect Renzo Piano. The film by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, co-directed by Filippo Feel Cavalca, was realized in partnership with Rai Cinema and under the patronage of the National Committee for the celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo.
Our readers already know the Leonardo project. i-Italy presented it in its early days. Written and performed by Massimilano Finazzer Flory, the film is taken from an itinerant theatrical show and has the face and language of Leonardo. It was filmed in Vinci, Milan, Amboise, Vigevano, Vaprio d'Adda, Clos Lucé and New York.
The sets are exceptional and suggestive, including locations such as the Sala delle Asse at the Castello Sforzesco and the Crypt of San Sepolcro; Leonardo’s home in Clos Lucé and his birthplace in Vinci; the Acquafraggia waterfalls in Piuro and the Adda river. Among the most evocative scenes in the film is one in which Leonardo holds his autograph, the only original kept in Italy’s State Archives.
"Being Leonardo da Vinci" is a unique opportunity for the Italian theater that becomes Cinema and travels the world, but it is also an extraordinary showcase to present Milan and Lombardy and their Leonardesque sites.
The final feature will be ready in the spring of 2019
