PAULA MANGANO
director's portfolio
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SLANA VODA
(SALT WATER)
official teaser:
Salt Water is my graduation film from FAMU realised as a coproduction between Croatia and the Czech Republic. It is my most personal film to date and as a psychological thriller, set in a Mediterranean context, it crosses the line between realism and surrealism to enhance the main subject of the film - the loss of innocence.
synopsis:
When Alberto is left alone on a deserted island following a discussion with his fiancee, strange things start happening. He meets a girl that he spends the day with, but very soon things get out of control and what seemed like a nice summer trip turns into a tragic event that will mark him forever.
year: 2021
running time: 23 min
format: digital, color
production: Studio FAMU, David Dešković
director: Paula Mangano
screenwriters: Paula Mangano, Nina Mitrović
director of photography: Vojta Dvořák
editor: Rolando Garduño
NÁVRAT JARA
(SPRING)
full movie;
Spring is a short film that was made as part of an exercise in the FAMU master's directing program. It was the first time I directed a screenplay that I hadn't written myself, as well as the first time I shot on 16mm film.
synopsis:
The young Elsa is caught by surprise when she comes home with her two small children, to find their flat completely empty. Her husband, the father of her children, had taken everything away from them.
This character-driven film is a journey with a young woman who finds the strength to confront her trauma and start opening up to someone again. It is a film about new possibilities, hope, and the regaining of trust.
year: 2019
running time: 14 min
format: 16mm, color
production: Studio FAMU
producer: David Dešković
director: Paula Mangano
screenwriter: Kateřina Kaclíková
director of photography: Raashi Métkari
editor: Rolando Garduño
HELP ME LOVE
full movie:
Help Me Love is the first short fiction film that I wrote and directed. I made it with the help of many friends that were part of the collective I was working with at the time. Thanks to this film the following year I was accepted to the master's directing program at FAMU in Prague.
synopsis:
A conflictual relationship between an old mother with difficult character, Elga, and her 50-year-old drug addicted son, Tony, finds its glue in Mamy, a ‘caretaker-by-chance’ from Ivory Coast, until the inevitable end of this ménage à trois.
Through a family that is falling apart, this film that is claustrophobic on purpose, is trying to show how grotesque human behaviour can be, when we nurture only the darkest parts of our being.
year: 2017
running time: 8 min
format: digital, color
production: Humareels
producers: Emma Pollini, Paula Mangano
director: Paula Mangano
screenwriters: Paula Mangano, Roberto Romagnoli
director of photography: Simone Gambelli
editor: Mattia Biancucci
RIJEKA CITY PUPPET THEATRE
This is a selection of many videos that were created for and in collaboration with the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre in the autumn of 2021. It is a collection of promotional videos as well as trailers for plays and event reportages.
year: 2021
format: digital, color
production: Rijeka City Puppet Theatre
director and video maker: Paula Mangano
VILLA ADELANTE
full movie:
Villa Adelante is the first film that I directed, shot and edited myself. It is a completely self produced and independent short documentary made shortly before the immigration crisis of 2016, in a moment of frequent fights between activists and the police in Bologna, the city where I was living. My aim was to go beyond the political fight and see how the real people affected by this crisis were living - how the other half lives.
synopsis:
Eight months in thirteen minutes. The story of a group of 25 people, from a 3 month old baby to a retired 68-year-old, who were forced to find an illegal solution to their housing problem. Immigrants and native Italians mix in this short reportage that mainly tries to capture the relationships between them, their needs and their emotions.
year: 2015
running time: 13 min
format: digital, color
director, producer, editor: Paula Mangano
camera operators: Filippo Braga, Paula Mangano
UNA SOLA BELLEZZA
(ONE BEAUTY)
One Beauty is a promotional video I directed and co-wrote as part of the promotional campaign for Poverarte Festival. The concept is based on getting rid of our insecurities and showing beauty in all bodies and all forms.
year: 2017
format: digital, color
production: Poverarte Festival
concept: Paula Mangano, Fabrizio Cavallaro
director, editor: Paula Mangano
camera: Claudia Vavassori
R.U.S.CO
R.U.S.CO (Recupero Urbano Spazi Comuni) is a project of urban reclaiming of public spaces set in an old galvanising plant in the periphery of Bologna. This video was commissioned in order to promote the way street artists were giving the space back to the local community by turning decadence into beauty.
year: 2016
format: digital, color
production: Humareels, Maxman Coop
director, editor: Paula Mangano
camera: Simone Gambelli, Domenico G.S. Parrino, Federico Giancola