Canone effimero

What begins as an ode to the slow pace at which a zampugna, a form of Calabrian bagpipe, is made, opens out into an ethnological musical tour into unchartered territory: an Italy of countless small traditions, often only passed on orally. In Canone effimero, brothers Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio present eleven local customs of performing music, passed down over generations which have survived to this day for them to find, from regions as different as Calabria, Marche, Liguria and Sicily. The square frames of the film continually find new ways to combine landscapes and their inhabitants into one unit. With calm and care and in suitably choral fashion, Canone effimero conveys a sense of the transgenerational based on practising, listening, learning and the human skill for imitation. Despite of each tradition being deeply rooted in nature as well as the region from which it originated, the film is free of the sort of nostalgic campanilismo that gets drunk on its own localities. Instead, it gradually weaves together the different local traditions into a network of possible countercultures. A film that seems anachronistic at first glance, but proves to be radically contemporary. (Fabian Tietke)

Born in Turin in 1978, Massimiliano & Gianluca De Serio are twins who have been collaborating since 1999 on films, documentaries, installations, and theatre. Their work has been featured at national and international film festivals and exhibitions, earning them numerous awards and recognition. Their most recent work, Spaccapietre, screened in the 2020 Venice Days competition at the Venice International Film Festival. Their award-winning fiction feature debut, Sette opere di misericordia, premiered in the international competition at the 2011 Locarno Film Festival.

Directors Gianluca De Serio, Massimiliano De Serio. Screenplay Gianluca De Serio, Massimiliano De Serio. Cinematography Piero Basso. Editing Diana Giromini. Sound Design Mirko Guerra. Sound Mirko Guerra. Producer Alessandro Borrelli. Executive Producer Alessandro Borrelli. Production company La Sarraz Pictures (Turin, Italy).

Films

Massimiliano & Gianluca De Serio: 2007: L’esame di Xhodi / Xhodi’s Exam. 2010: Bakroman. 2011: Sette opere di misericordia / Seven Acts of Mercy. 2015: I ricordi del fiume / River Memories. 2020: Spaccapietre / Una Promessa. 2025: Canone effimero.