“The film is a tribute to the stories that my grandmothers told me, who witnessed in their yards many women abused by their husbands, who believed they were their owners.” This is what he repeats over and over again, Paola Cortellesithe talented Italian actress, singer, screenwriter and brand new director, when asked about her blockbuster and challenging film There will always be a tomorrow (2023), debut film also released in Argentina. In Italy she surpassed Barbie and Oppenheimer and it is the greatest success achieved by an Italian director. More than six million Italians watched it in 2023.
Paola Cortellesi was born in Rome in November 1973 and is married to the director Riccardo Milani. They have a daughter, Laura, 9 years old. Paola He started in show business at 13giving his voice to the song Cacao Meravigliao for RAI.
Since she was a child she knew she wanted to be an actress. Her family did not agree as she was a new world to them and yet they accompanied her in her vocation with her affection and discretion. Already at 19, he began studying acting.
In 2000, as a comic actress, she brought out her skills in parodying famous people. In 2004, she was part of the iconic Sanremo Festival. As her singer, she has received praise from Mina, who said: “La Cortellesi has one of the best voices in Italy.”
He has had a prolific career in cinema, theater and television, with different roles. One of the words that could define it is: “polyhedral”, with many facets.
Paola has a strong friendship with Laura Pausini. They worked together in 2016 on the RAI show, Laura & Paola. They are very united. Paola Cortellesi says: “We have two completely different characters, as well as different customs and lifestyles, however, an unexpected and very solid alchemy occurred between us.”
The brand new director studied acting for several years with Beatriz Nélida Bracco, an Argentine, teacher of actors, recognized reference in Italy. Beatrice Bracco – as the Italians renamed her – went into exile in Europe in 1976 and, thanks to a scholarship, Italy became her adopted country until her last days, in 2012. She is a profound connoisseur of the human spirit and of the actors’ work. She left the Beatrice Bracco Acting Training as a legacy.
Gender-based violence is also psychological, and is as unhealthy as physical violence.
Paola CortellesiActress, director
Cortellesi in a scene from his film. There will always be a tomorrow, in which she stars.
Always feminist
Paola is not only a feminist in film: she strongly advocates female empowerment. She also belongs to the organization A Nessuna Centomilawhich collaborates with the victims of gender violenceand recently managed to bring together thousands of people from all over Italy at the Verona Arena, in a concert, to raise funds for women affected by physical and psychological violence.
There will always be a tomorrow is a film that talks about patriarchy, domestic violence and civil rights. It was set in post-war Rome, in the ’40s.
This filmed in black and white: on the one hand, because the director had imagined it that way; on the other, it is a subtle tribute to “pink” neorealism, with comic and sarcastic touches, which achieve a balance between drama and comedy. Like life itself.
Cortellesi says: “It is an issue that involves us all: patriarchy has different variants. Sometimes it is not necessary for your husband to use physical violence, or not all children see their mother being beaten by their father. But violence is also psychicand it is as unhealthy as physics, exemplified in humiliating gestures or mistreatment.”
In There is always tomorrowthere is another curious fact: the actor Valerio Mastandreawho plays the role of her husband in the film, was her partner a few years ago, and currently has an excellent relationship with him.
The movie has resources that de-dramatize the plot, like music: that of Lucio Dalla and that of Jon Spencer. You need to breathe through the music to follow the dramatic story of Delia, the protagonist. The presentation of the characters is very original.
Paola affirms with determination: “I want my daughter to know where we women start from and where we have to go. Let her learn not to take anything for granted. Our conquests have cost tears and blood. We must not lower our guard”.
The director had already addressed the issue in the film Scusate if there is (Excuse me if I exist2014), of which she was the author. She has also been a recurring focus on the issue of gender violence in her monologues and in the theatre.
C’ é anchor domani -such as the original name of the film- is managing to transcend the screen towards Italian society (and it is not the only one), in a transversal and transgenerational way. He began his journey in Rome Cinema Festival in 2023. After sweeping theaters in Italy, it is being presented in Europe.
Paola Cortellesi came to Argentina for this year’s Italian Film Week. Photo: AFP.
Good interaction
A very particular, unthinkable event occurred that made clear the impact of the argument on the public. Paola and the other actors, to promote the film, They chatted with the public after the exhibition.
The talk turned into a group therapy where incredible experiences were heard: grandchildren who talked about their grandparents, stories of children who dusted off stories about their parents, even a ninety-year-old lady in Genoa, who raised her hand and said: “I was Delia (the central and mistreated character of the film), but I am no longer. The director remembers that they met face to face and hugged each other.
Paola Cortellesi appreciates the good weather that the filming had. He defines it as “serene and embracing at the same time,” which is why he thanks each one of those who were part of the troupe: electricians, machinists, photography equipment, wardrobe, makeup and hair. “They always accompanied me, with great commitment and complicity. Creative in every small detail, everyone giving their best. In the last take, where everyone’s excitement was felt in the atmosphere, I said: ‘Shall we do another one?’”
In Argentina, it premiered within the framework of the Italian Cinema Week. Cortellesi presented it and spoke with the public. She seemed very happy and made reference to the Argentine “relatives”, alluding to the number of Italians and descendants of Italians who live in our country.
Being born a woman means being part of a movement, whether you want to or not.
Paola CortellesiActress, director
Paola Cortellesi at the 2023 Rome International Film Festival. Photo: AFP.
A timely film
At the recent awards ceremony David di Donatellothe Oscar of Italian cinema, won four statuettes. The film appears at a time when femicides in Italy are regularly on the front pages of newspapers. The deaths of women at the hands of their partners cause shock, which makes the issue of gender violence so present. In the period in which the film takes place, women’s rights were not written, nor were they even thought of.
Paola hopes that the film continues creating awareness. “Being born a woman means being part of a movement, whether you want to or not,” she says. “We must be aware of how much we have suffered. I always say we have because it was valid for our grandmothers and to a lesser extent, it still exists today. “Femicides, unfortunately, demonstrate this and in other cases, invisibility in the world of work.” And he closes: “Although my film was set in the past, it looks to the future: let’s think about men and women, together, and hand in hand”.
About the social networks, Cortellesi has his opinion. “I find them dangerous. I use them to promote my work and share beautiful and fun moments. I am especially concerned about teenagers. Not everyone has the strength to overcome fierce criticism and ridicule. Having an audience at fourteen is very dangerous,” she says.
