| Director: | Massimiliano Camaiti |
|---|---|
| Production: | Cinemaundici (Giovanna Nicolai, Olivia Musini) |
| Running Time: | 73’ |
| Language: | Italian |
| Country: | Italy |
| Main Cast: | le Monache Benedettine del Monastero di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere |
| Screenplay: | Massimiliano Camaiti |
| Cinematographer: | Ilya Sapeha |
| Editor: | Benni Atria |
| Music: | Husk Husk |
| Sound: | Media Fenix |
| Visual Effects: | Ermanno Di Nicola |
Cinema
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
Biennale College Cinema
Synopsis
Within the walls of the Monastery of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, in the heart of Rome, a centuries- old tradition is renewed every year: in January, two newborn lambs, after being adorned and blessed, are entrusted to the care of one of the cloistered nuns. She cares for them with the tenderness of a mother, nursing and feeding them. The presence of the animals has a specific purpose: with their wool, the nuns weave the pallium that the Pope wears on June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. In the Holy Year 2025, while the rite was taking place, the Pope suddenly fell ill.
Director’s Statement
I discovered this tradition by chance, while walking past the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Seeing two lambs covered in flowers, enthusiastically celebrated by the nuns before being blessed by a priest, was a revelation. It was there that the idea of following the journey of the two animals was born: from birth to the completion of the ritual that transforms their wool into a vestment destined to be worn by the pope. The lambs opened the doors to a secret universe, marked by a different rhythm, a different pace, that not even the sudden arrival of history could disturb: upon the news of Pope Francis’s death, despite the commotion, the nuns’ activities halted only for a few hours. Life in the monastery then resumed unchanged and unchangeable, as it has throughout the centuries.
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
PRODUCTION:
Cinemaundici - Giovanna Nicolai, Olivia Musini
Via Giuseppe Avezzana, 51
00195 Roma, Italia
Tel: +39 0645478610
E-mail: giovanna.nicolai@cinemaundici.it
Web: http://www.cinemaundici.it
WORLD SALES:
True Colours Glorious Films - Elliot Gustin
Largo Italo Gemini, 1
00161 Roma, Italia
Tel: +39 0637352334
E-mail: egustin@truecolours.it
Web: http://truecolours.it
PRESS OFFICE:
La Biennale di Venezia
Ca' Giustinian, San Marco, 1364/a
30124 Venezia, Italia
Tel: +39 041 2726 644
E-mail: presscinema@labiennale.org; college-cinema@labiennale.org
Gabriele Barcaro
Via Germanico, 172
00192 Roma, Italia
Tel: +39 3405538425
E-mail: gabriele.barcaro@gmail.com
