«… Aho! Ma che stai a ‘ffa? Ah etrusco, moh te cionco tutte le dita … te vojio vede poi come fai a scattà ste’ cazzo de foto…» (Hey, what are you up to? Ah, Etruscan, now I’ll chop all your fingers off... then we’ll see how you manage to take these bloody pictures....”)
We had managed to trick, so to speak, a guardian of the vast Castelfalfi estate to see how “assailable” to set would be.
Photogallery
We walked on foot for kilometres on the side overlooking Volterra, good air, mild weather, no bystanders, it was our day.
Then the ambush charm, the silent wait, the closeness with Castelfalfi’s country animals and insects broken after a few clicks. As it always happens when you crouch insects and animals either sting you without mercy or growl pointing at your hiding place with their nose … it’s a bit like when you pull your trousers down to do it behind a bush: they can tell you anything, they can even slap you … how can you react? This is the tough reality of the «picture hunter».
This time the prey was Benigni’s Pinocchio top secret set. Days of ambush to seize the moment, to take the cover picture, but this time the “Toscanaccio” outwitted us.
The set, even in the open country side, is scattered with blasted environmental microphones. They can hear the “click” of a camera and pinpoint its position. The final result is glaringly obvious: «… Aho! Ma che stai a ‘ffa? ...» (Hey, what are you up to?)
First rule: immediately deny the evidence and save camera and precious film. So Giulio runs flat out while Valentina, myself, dressed in pink and scarcely camouflaged, surrenders to the “brute”
«What’s the matter? I am only a tourist, I come from Florence for a bit of fresh air …»
«Ma senti sta’ impunita ...» “I can’t believe how shameless...”
«All right then. I am here for work… is it no longer possible to work in Italy?»
«E te pare che io stò qui a giocà? Te pare che me diverto ad acchiappà le frescone come te?» “And do you think I’m here to play? Do you think I have fun catching fresh people like you!”
The film is safe in any case, the photographer too… this time. It could ended up a lot better though.
Happy viewing of Benigni and his set for the Pinocchio film in the photo gallery.
Photos by Carlo Sestini and Giulio Frediani
October.2001
Benigni on line (In Italian)
Photography
Pinocchio’s fairytale
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