At MIA 2024, BDE talked to Alessandra Cataleta, director of the Italian documentary Pulling My Own Strings, pitched in the Italians Doc It Better section of the Rome gathering. The feature in development, produced by Atomic, centres on the turbulent life of puppeteer Anna Cuticchio and is based on a treatment shortlisted for the prestigious Solinas Award for Theatrical Documentary in 2021.
The story of Anna Cuticchio begins at the age of 15 in Sicily. Forced into a shotgun marriage, Anna had to move to Turin during the years of “no renting to southerners,” enduring violence and threats from her husband. Over time, she managed to free herself, becoming the first female puppeteer to run her own theatre, graduating, and eventually giving up everything to become a missionary in Tanzania.
Decades of struggles for women’s emancipation are encapsulated in the unique—and still largely unknown—story of a woman who has spanned the history of Italy. An unwitting protagonist, today Anna Cuticchio is a point of reference for generations of women, such as Sara, a child psychologist from Padua; Laura Chiara, a recent graduate from Bologna; another Sara, a Knight of the Republic and a writer about to present her latest work at the Turin Book Fair; and finally, Luna and Irene, two children aged 3 and 6, who grow up immersed in a world of knights, maidens, and enchanted creatures, brought to life during playtime with the help of their father and aunt Tiziana, also an actress and puppeteer. There’s also Vanna, Anna’s daughter, who faces an exhausting and painful move while packing away the memories of an entire life, including one hundred shrink-wrapped puppets.
Anna’s life is a compendium of the many battles fought by women in Italy over the last sixty years. Through the use of archival materials and Super 8 family footage, the biographical account intertwines with the historical narrative of a country where practices such as “honour killings” and “shotgun marriages” were only abolished in the 1980s. Anna’s story is rooted in 1940s Sicily but speaks to our present day as a cry of alarm, as well as resilience.
Cataleta, an alumna of Rome’s Sapienza University and the Brighton Film School, won the BBC Untold South contest with a short documentary about jazz singer Renée Ansell. Previously, she worked as a filmmaker and writer for MTV and RAI. After working on her first two documentaries, Scarti and Il futuro non me lo ricordo, she co-directed her third, Semidei, with Fabio Mollo. The film premiered at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori in 2023. Semidei was a finalist at the David di Donatello Awards and scooped a prize at the Nastri d’Argento this year.
“The encounter with Anna’s life was, for me as a director and as a woman, like looking into a mirror, through which I clearly saw the reasons that have shaped my way of telling stories. Through her, I recognised the voice that, since my earliest works, has spoken to me quietly, beneath the surface, about abuse, obscurantism, distortion, coercion, and oblivion—experiences reserved for the strength and talent of extraordinary female figures, but also for girls, women, and myself, who would never have had Anna’s courage,” explains Cataleta. “This film is dedicated not only to girls and women from the past and present, but above all to the men who are and will be.”
Cataleta penned the documentary with Irene Russo, who has been involved in various projects as a writer and screenwriter, including shorts, features, podcasts, and books. Cataleta is also lensing the film alongside Debora Vrizzi, while Valerio Camporini Faggioni is in charge of the score.
Anna Cuticchio stars alongside Vanna Saputo, Teresa Cuticchio, Sara Cuticchio, Tiziana Cuticchio, Sara Favarò, Fulvio Verna, Laura Chiara Amato, Luna Verna, and Irene Verna.
Pulling My Own Strings is budgeted at €150,000. The Atomic production team includes Gianluigi Attorre, Caterina Mollica, and Irene Ceccon. The film has also received the support of Officina 38 and Cinema Key.
“We’re considering applying for funding through the film commissions of Veneto, Calabria, Piedmont, Sicily, and Emilia-Romagna. We’re about to present the project to a potential sponsor/mentor, already identified among major Italian entrepreneurial entities with international standing,” the team reveals to BDE.
“The material produced for the film, including both the footage already shot and the archival material, currently constitutes 80% of the project. There are 5 to 6 days of filming remaining, to be completed between France, Veneto, and Sicily by the end of 2024. Editing is already under way, and the film will be completed by February 2025 before being submitted to international festivals.”
“Regarding our participation at MIA, we’re seeking international production and distribution partners, as well as a reliable broadcaster able to bring this story to audiences in Italy and abroad. […] This documentary does not want to confine itself to the definition of a ‘biopic’; it aims to be a historical account of a country that continues to grapple with women’s issues on a daily basis.”
