Ilona is the story of the life of Cicciolina, the only porn star in the world – to date – who has gained a seat in a Parliament. The new biographic documentary, directed and produced by Chiara Salvo of Italian outfit Scarlet, is one of the most daring doc projects showcased at this year’s MIA in Rome.
The feature zooms in on the icon, born Elena Anna Staller in Budapest in 1951. Staller gained her seat with the Radical Party in the Chamber of Deputies in 1987 and later took charge of the newly-created libertarian party Partito dell’Amore (lit. the Love Party) together with her boyfriend and porn director Riccardo Schicchi in 1991. “Her path is intertwined with the history of Italy from the 1970s onwards, highlighting the relationship with body, sex and pornography in the country that hosts the Holy Seat,” the project notes suggest.
Shot on location between Rome, Budapest and the USA, the project is budgeted at €600,000, with €210,000 already in place.
Ilona promises to be “a reflection on the birth and evolution of feminism in Italy, seen through the eyes of a porn icon who has grafted a sexual revolution into Italian society.” It also aims to “highlight the link between sex and politics, and the relationship of porn with the counterculture in the years of protest.”
The story of Ilona begins in the 1970s, when she arrives in Italy from Hungary and it portrays the rise from porn star, model and singer to “honourable member of the Italian Parliament, champion of human and civil rights” and to “muse of international artists and a KGB spy, involved in a legal feud with her ex-husband, the American artist Jeff Koons.”
“Fiercely criticised and acclaimed by feminists and intellectuals, Ilona is still a controversial character who, despite her 72 years, attracts new generations and continues to be a hardcore legend,” the creative team adds.
“The challenge of this documentary is to prove how Cicciolina caused an epochal break within Italian society. [The image of] her naked breast has been a turning point. Endorsements given by intellectuals such as Dacia Maraini and Umberto Eco show that the Ilona ‘factor’ has shaken morality and invited women to understand that sexual freedom had to be an absolute priority in the 1970s,” reveals Salvo.
Before embarking on this project, Salvo has gained extensive experience in working with unscripted formats and in particular TV documentaries, talk shows and docu-reality. She kicked off her career in the United States, initially working as a freelance writer and director. After moving back to Italy, she has been creating new formats for Mediaset and Magnolia for 20 years. Later, she opened her own company, Scarlett Produzioni.
Scarlett’s core business revolves around the making of original formats aiming to both Italian and foreign broadcasters and streaming platforms. The outfit defines itself as “a factory for content creation and storytelling.” Some of their recent works include Storie del genere (a TV programme about gender identity issues), Amica di salvataggio (a doc feature portraying the life of late journalist and activist Alessandra Appiano) and Dimenticanze (a TV programme on patients affected by the Alzheimer’s disease), all commissioned and aired by RAI.
At MIA, Scarlet is looking for co-producers and broadcasters for Ilona. Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s ILBE Group Film Productions is already among the confirmed partners.
