‘A New Beginning’ is the title of the eighth and last episode of the exclusive series, the Italian Embassy reported.
Initiated in August 2020, following an original idea by the Italian Embassy in Tehran, the initiative consists of virtual cooperation between Italian and Iranian artists, taking inspiration from the important dramaturgical traditions of the two countries, and focusing on the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives, according to the Italian Embassy.
The last episode, directed by Anna Dora Dorno in cooperation with Ali Shams, and featuring Nicola Pianzola and Danial Kheirikhah on Riccardo Nanni’s musical notes, conveys the hope of a new beginning thanks to the newly-discovered vaccines.
‘A New Beginning’ goes through the most relevant moments highlighted by the theater series: The changes in people’s habits and the new daily rhythms imposed by the lockdowns; the impact on travel and work procedures; the establishment of a different relationship with the outside world and the restoration of lost artistic spaces. Nicola Pianzola’s narrative voice in Italian speaks of the need for a “potion of normality” which everybody anxiously longs for, in order to be able to return soon to “hugs, smiles, and applauses”.
Iranian actor Danial Kheirikhah, in a succession of artistic performances, through the use of medical devices, reveals a not-too-distant future, in which “alleys, squares, and streets will be emptied of absence and filled with presence” thanks to a new weapon that, instead of killing, “will keep people alive”.
The episode, ‘A New Beginning,’ can be viewed (together with previous episodes ‘DIS-connection,’ ‘Flight Mode,’ ‘Alone,’ ‘Don’t Call Me a Hero,’ ‘Notes of Absence,’ ‘The Night Shift’ and ‘Beyond the Mirror’) on the YouTube, Twitter and Instagram channels of the Italian Embassy in Tehran. In March, a final talk between the artists participating in the project will be held, with the aim of highlighting the significance, artistic value, and possible follow-up to the ‘8 ½’ project.
Source: Iran Daily