Official trailer for Controra - House of Shadows, the first feature film written and directed by Rossella De Venuto, a director from Trentino with origins in Puglia, whose film will be released in Italian theaters starting June 5, 2014 distributed by Interlinea Film (Maurizio Antonini) in co-production with Italy's Barter SpA and Ireland's Ripple World Pictures.
Controra - House of Shadows is a film set between Apulia, South Tyrol and Ireland, drawing on Apulian traditions and folklore, elements, by the way, already traceable in the title, as well as in the story. The "controra" in fact is a term for a particular time of the summer day (the early afternoon hours) recognizable by the absence of shadows and in which, according to popular belief, spirits manifest themselves. This is the tale that elderly Apulian ladies used to tell their children or grandchildren to put them to sleep, making them believe that the only way to escape the dark presences was to sleep.
Childhood memories associated with Puglia have stuck with Rossella De Venuto so much that she wanted to immortalize them in her first feature-length paranormal thriller genre set in Altamura (in Puglia), Bolzano and Dublin, an evocative film that blends haunted houses, family secrets and superstitions belonging to Southern Italy.
Protagonist of Controra is Megan (Irish actress Fiona Glascott), a successful artist living in Dublin with her Italian husband Leo. Following news of the death of Monsignor Domenico, Leo's uncle, the two return to Puglia to deal with the inheritance. It involves an ancient palace that Megan becomes so fascinated with that she plans to renovate it to live in with her husband. Unfortunately, some time after their arrival, she will witness strange events and mysterious apparitions that will prompt her to investigate. A family secret that has been buried for years is about to bubble to the surface, projecting the ghosts of the past into the present.
For Controra - House of Shadows It seems that Scarlett De Venuto was inspired by such films as The Others and Rosemary's Baby.
Cinematography is by Irishman Ciaran Tanham, editing is by Cecilia Zanuso, while costumes and set design were handled by Sabrina Balestra and Antonella Cannarozzi from Puglia. The film's screenplay is based on a subject developed by De Venuto together with Francesco Piccolo.
In the cast, in addition to Fiona Glascott we find Pietro Ragusa, Bianca Nappi, Federico Castelluccio, Marcello Prayer, Ray Lovelock and Salvatore Lazzaro.
