"Cinema" is a song written by Federico Nardelli,
Lorenzo Urciullo and
Samuel Umberto Romano and recorded by Italian singers Samuel and
Francesca Michielin. Produced by Nardelli, the song was released as a single on 14 May 2021.
With lyrics describing the will to come back to carefree days, the song was chosen by Italian radio station
RTL 102.5 as a candidate song of the summer at the RTL 102.5 Power Hits Estate 2021.
As of July 2021, it peaked at number 93 on the
FIMI Italian Singles Chart.
Background
The song was written by Samuel, Lorenzo Urciullo and Federico Nardelli. Since the beginning, it was conceived as a duet. Samuel and Michielin met for the first time during an episode of Italian talent show ''
X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...
'' in 2019, when Samuel was a judge and Michielin appeared as a musical guest. Despite this, the idea to involve Michielin in the project came from Urciullo, who previously collaborated with her. Michielin was asked to perform the song through her manager, Marta Donà, and was enthusiastic about it. The song's lyrics were slightly changed in order to better represent Michilien.
Its lyrics focus on the will to come back to cheerful and carefree days, after months during which people had to deal with restrictions related to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, and spent a lot of time at home watching films alone.
According to Samuel, "Beyond the bad parts of these times, we had the opportunity to re-discover ourselves through several film stages, and I liked the idea to talk about it through a song that talks about starting again, about getting back on the road of ordinary days".
The song's lyrics include several film references, citing directors
Tinto Brass
Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the Erot ...
and
François Truffaut, as well as films ''
Jules and Jim'' and ''
Jackie Brown
''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jac ...
''.
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Giacomo Triglia. Filmed in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, it shows Samuel and Michielin in the
Venetian Lagoon, while a monster is following them. After they appear on the red carpet of the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
, they discover nobody is waiting for them. In the end, they start dancing together with the lagoon monster.
The video premiered at Italian cinemas on 28 May 2021, and was broadcast before every film for 48 hours, until 30 May 2021.
Charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
2021 songs
2021 singles
Francesca Michielin songs