The final film in Jonas Carpignano’s ‘Calabrian’ trilogy, A Chiara provides an unflinching look at the Italian mafia through the eyes of its 15-year-old protagonist, Chiara
The Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club is back. After launching in April with a screening of Ninja Thyberg’s searing porn drama Pleasure, and then with Paul Verhoeven’s sexually unhinged nun thriller Benedetta, this time it’s A Chiara, Jonas Carpignano that takes centre stage. The third in the Italian director’s ‘Calabrian’ trilogy, neorealist drama focuses on Chiara, the 15-year-old daughter of a wealthy family whose ties to the local mafia underworld rise to the surface after a shocking revelation.
“The mafia has a very patriarchal structure, with fathers passing on power to their sons, or nephews, etc,” explains Carpignano. “And making the film from the point of view of a girl allowed us to escape the preconceived notions one has about mafia families and tell the story from the point of view of a family, not just a mafia family, but a family.”
Simply put, this is not your average coming-of-age story – and, backdropped by the idyllic town of Gioia Tauro where the film is set, as the characters dig beyond the region’s natural beauty, the mafia roots inherent to the place become alarmingly evident. “There is the underground economy, the great poverty ignored by the state, and to top that, the mass arrival of migrants,” the director explains of the region.
As part of an ongoing partnership with MUBI, Dazed will hold an exclusive screening of A Chiara on July 12 at London’s Garden Cinema. Tickets are on sale here for £8 (or £5 for Dazed Club members), with complimentary drinks included. You can become a member of Dazed club by signing up here.