''Castello Cavalcanti'' is a 2013

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

written and directed by

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

, starring

Jason Schwartzman Jason Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor, musician, and member of the Coppola family. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjee ...

as an unsuccessful race car driver who crashes his car in an Italian village. The 8-minute film was filmed at

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and financed by

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

. It debuted at the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

and was released online on November 13, 2013. It quickly became popular and received critical acclaim.

Plot

In a quiet Italian village in 1955, Italian-American

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver Jed Cavalcanti (

), who is struggling in last place in a race through the countryside, crashes his car in the middle of the public square. Irritated with his situation, he abandons his car, blames the malfunctions on his brother-in-law (who is also his mechanic), and waits for the next bus out of town, which is set to arrive in 20 minutes. However, after sharing a drink with the villagers, he discovers that he is in his ancestral homeland, "Castello Cavalcanti", and that several members of his company are his "ancestors". After a friendly phone call with his brother-in-law, he soon decides to skip the next bus and spend more time in town.

Allusions to Italian cinema

Anderson alludes to some classic Italian films in the short, including several by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

, such as ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...

'' (1960) and ''

Amarcord ''Amarcord'' () is a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the village of Borgo San Giuliano (situated near the ancien ...

'' (1973).

References

External links

* * {{Wes Anderson 2013 films Films set in 1955 Films set in Italy Films directed by Wes Anderson Films shot at Cinecittà Studios 2013 drama films Films with screenplays by Wes Anderson 2013 short films Italian short films American short films 2010s English-language films English-language short films