VENICE: AUSTRIAN DIRECTOR HERMANN WEISKOPF AND HIS VESPA IN THE VENETIAN LAGOON

Excerpt from the original video, courtesy (among the authors of the shooting: Andrea Cornacchia).

September 2021 – A spectacular arrival in Venice by Austrian director Hermann Weiskopf, navigating the Grand Canal with his beloved Vespa GT. He docked at the Hotel Excelsior moor (to applause) where, on Saturday, 4 September 2021 in the Veneto Region Space, his new docufilm - “Ride back to Freedom – 2 wheels in search of the freedom lost during the Coronavirus era” was presented on the occasion of the 78th International Film Festival (Lido di Venezia, from 1 to 9 September 2021).

THE EVENT. Saturday, 4 September 2021, in the Veneto Region space of the Hotel Excelsior, during the 78th International Film Festival of Venice, Austrian director Hermann Weiskopf presented his new docufilm which he filmed right after the lockdown due to Coronavirus in 2020: “Ride back to Freedom” (director of photography and cameraman Bernhard Freinademetz). He waited patiently for the border to open between his country and Italy and, on midnight of 15 June 2020, he was the first to cross over into Brenner, astride a symbol of all things made in Italy, a burgundy Vespa. From the first cup of coffee he was able to enjoy in the Bolzano province, all the way to his reflections before the gateway to Europe on Lampedusa, the director from Innsbruck captured the fears and hopes of those who had remained in confinement without knowing what the future might hold. A large portion of the director’s work is dedicated to Veneto: from the sunsets over Lake Garda to “Nessun dorma” sung by tenor Cristian Ricci in Verona, from the walls of Montagnana to the first tourists of Venice.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION – THE DIRECTOR SPEAKING: “My film tells the story of my trip on a Vespa from Innsbruck to Lampedusa, in Italy, after the first lockdown in 2020. I left on the day the Austrian-Italian border opened to travel 4,700 kilometres, interviewing Italians and showing this wonderful country.” What struck you the most about the reaction of Italians? What type of Italians did you find after the first lockdown? “Very open and hospitable, as always, generous people. But they also had a great desire to tell their story. I think that there was this sensation, as if to say, ‘what happened? Is what we are experiencing really possible? Is it really possible?’ Yes, I had the feeling that there was also a great desire to tell their story.”
Excerpt from the original video, courtesy (among the authors of the shooting: Andrea Cornacchia).

The protagonists also include Verona Highway Patrol officers who accompanied the director on the leg through their city, talking about the concept of freedom from a State Police point of view. For the presentation of the feature film, Hermann Weiskopf chose to arrive at the Lido and the Excelsior in an original way, reflecting the theme of the entire film “Ride back to Freedom”: he travelled down the Grand Canal with his Vespa, suitably fastened onto a boat.

The presentation at Hotel Excelsior was completed by a round table on: “Cinema as an instrument of territorial promotion”, participated in by, in addition to director Hermann Weiskopf, Vincenzo Maria Recchiuti, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the State Police, online communications manager of the State Police/Office of External Relations of the Public Security Department;

Fabrizio Magani, Superintendent of archaeology, fine arts, and landscapes for the Venice Metropolitan area and the provinces of Belluno, Padua and Treviso; Loredana Borghesan, Mayor of Montagnana and president of the Città Murate association; Roberto Bessi, Film Producer from Lazio and teacher at the Rome National School of Cinema (as well as the producer of “Ride back to Freedom”, along with Austrian producer Norbert Blecha).

(Source: PROMO E20 press release, Loris Danielli).

SOURCE AND INFO ABOUT RIDE BACK TO FREEDOM: www.ridebacktofreedom.com

THE INTERVIEWS: WITH DIRECTOR HERMANN WEISKOPF.

You arrived at the Venice Film Festival in an original and spectacular way...
“Here at the Venice Film Festival, where we can present our film for the first time within the scheduled events, I arrived with a Vespa, but not just any Vespa - it’s the one that I used in the film ‘Ride back to Freedom’.  What can I say except that it is the dream of a lifetime come true.”
How did it feel to go down the Grand Canal in front of all the most renowned monuments of Venice with people waving and taking pictures?
“We loaded the Vespa on a small transport boat. We transported it over the Grand Canal all the way here to the Lagoon, where the Festival was being held. It’s hard to describe the feeling... I’ll look at myself in these images and I’ll wonder if what happened was real... but it seems like it was and we are very grateful...”

Verona 2020. On the left, director Hermann Weiskopf and his Vespa; on the left, backstage photo: tenor Christian Ricci in Piazza dei Signori.
Source of images: www.facebook.com/PromoE20.

How was your docufilm received by those who have had the chance to see it so far? 
“So far, the film has only been seen by people in the industry and a few people who were selected for a sort of test screening. Reactions are enthusiastic to say the least. Maybe it’s because of the subject of Coronavirus and freedom, which is current but has historic value at the same time, given the time at which it was filmed... maybe it’s because the people who tell their stories are extremely sincere and spontaneous, and then add me, the Vespa, fantastic music and top notch photography and you’ve got a lot of people saying, ‘Hermann, this film will be extremely successful and it’s the best you’ve done yet.’ Opinions that naturally make me proud and optimistic.”
Who else are you thinking about to introduce your docufilm to an increasingly broader audience?
“We want to reach an extremely international audience and, given the subject matter of the docufilm, I think that is more than feasible. As for the ‘exploitation’, we’ve chosen classic distribution of the film which means: first International Film Festivals... then cinema tours accompanied by me as the director and others, to then move on to TV and streaming.”
Are you aware that your work represents a sort of ‘milestone’ that will forever mark on of Italy’s historic moments?
“When, on 15 June 2020, as soon as the border between Austria and Italy opened, at exactly midnight, cameraman Bernhard Freinademetz and I were the only ones crossing over the Brenner pass, I began to understand that what we were doing was unique and a once in a lifetime experience… the story itself will tell the rest. But even this awareness grows every day, seeing the potential that the film is quickly developing. No matter who I tell about ‘Ride back to Freedom’, everyone is enthusiastic and they want to see the film… in the meantime, I show the trailer which just makes them even more curious and impatient to see it.”

July 2021 Italian Pavilion, Cannes Film Festival 2021 – Hermann & Co. at the Croisette to promote the film.

Last year, how did your family, your professional entourage and friends react to your idea of going over the border and  crossing Italy on your Vespa?
“My wife has always supported me in my film-making activities from the time we met about 30 years ago and she like the idea of ‘Ride back to Freedom’ a lot straight away. She obviously also had great doubts about the feasibility of making such a, shall we say, bold film at a time when the world was still paralysed by the shocking images of the Covid-19 tragedy. Just think of Bergamo, the many dead and ill in intensive care units, the completely deserted streets. Yes, I’ll admit it: there were times when I was very much afraid, especially before the departure but then everything went well fortunately. I must thank Loris Danielli who supported me from the beginning, as well as all those wonderful people I was able to interview from north and south Italy, from Brenner all the way to Lampedusa. Deep down, the film is really theirs and it has a depth of great humanity. Otherwise, it’s normal that many will believe it only when they see it…”

Photo from the set, with the support of the Italian State Police. Source of images: www.facebook.com/PromoE20.

You’re a Vespista… but if you hadn’t been, would the idea for this docufilm have come to you?
“I’ve been riding since I was 16, but it was only on my fiftieth birthday that I gave myself the gift of a Vespa 250 which, shortly before the pandemic and the subsequent docufilm, I changed out for the latest model 300 Touring. It’s hard to say, but I think the idea for this docufilm would have come to me anyway... but given the driving them of the film and the search for lost freedom, no other vehicle would have been able to interpret this leitmotiv as well.”
A final comment on your experience in Venice…
“Dreams are also part of who human beings are and I am no exception. And when a great dream comes true, you are super happy and naturally grateful. Well… I have unforgettable memories of a dream come true from ‘Ride back to Freedom’ at the Venice Film Festival, so pardon me if that isn’t much!”

THE INTERVIEWS: WITH PR LORIS DANIELLI.

For a professional and expert in cultural and territory promotion like you, what is it like to ‘support’ Hermann’s docufilm?
“An unforgettable experience for us. We saw the idea being born on the sofa at home when Hermann and I were sharing our ideas and arriving in Venice to present a docufilm which will go down in history and that tells the story of Italy reopening was an extremely emotional moment that I’ll cherish in my heart.”
What other ideas/initiatives are you planning for 2021? In Italy and abroad…
“The film will participate in other important film competitions and then, in 2022, we are thinking of doing a presentation tour around Italy and in Austria as well, with a projection of the film and a debate with the protagonists.”

In Veneto: in the centre, director Hermann Weiskopf with his Vespa GT during filming of the film; near him (in the white shirt), his friend and PR Loris Danielli. Image source: www.facebook.com/PromoE20.

To the broader public whose curiosity we’ve piqued by now and who are wondering: “Is it possible that the film will be streamed on the most common digital platforms?”, how do you respond?
“Any path is possible. It will depend on the evolution of the film competitions and the relationships we are building with distributors and sponsors. The film definitely made an excellent impression in Venice in the few minutes it was shown and we are counting on receiving fair recognition for all the work we've done so far.”
A final comment on your experience in Venice…
“Having experienced the great thrill of the most important Film Festival in the world gave all of us great satisfaction for two reasons: First because, although Hermann Weiskopf is Austrian but an ‘adopted’ Italian, the film tells the story of all of Italy, made up of a thousand faces and as many dialects but united by a great love for their country; Second because a work born out of friendship, almost as a game, proved in the end to be a compendium of our way of being Italian, for good or bad, evoking that alternating fun and emotion that is so typically Italian in the viewers which, after the dark period of Covid, leaves room for a great hope of recovery, like what is happening for the Italian sports world this summer.
So, deep down, Ride back to Freedom strives to revisit Mancini’s gesture, battling down to the final penalty kick, but with the greatest victory, our beloved Italy, from Brenner to Lampedusa, which gets back on the road that was so abruptly interrupted during the lockdown, in search of the freedom lost.”

The director was recently a guest at the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera (Pisa, Italy) on two occasions: in June, along with Loris Danielli (photo above, welcomed by the President of the Piaggio Foundation Riccardo Costagliola and Marco Manzoli/Vespa World Club), and in July with producer Roberto Bessi (together here below in the vehicle exhibit area/Piaggio Group/Pontedera Plant in Italy).

INFO ON RIDE BACK TO FREEDOM www.ridebacktofreedom.com

ALSO READ THE PREVIOUS ARTICLE DEDICATED TO HERMANN WEISKOPF’S DOCUFILM:
wide.piaggiogroup.com/en/articles/travels/ride-back-to-freedom