New this year, Celebrations is the section of Ravenna Nightmare that honors the best artists of our country, a moment to remember the great names of the past and bring them to the general public. Among the appointments of the section, on the occasion of Dante's celebrations, Ravenna Nightmare Film Fest presents an itinerary to approach what will be the final celebration (in 2021) of the 700th anniversary of the death of the supreme poet, focused on his most famous Canticle. Thus was born Waiting for Dante - New routes to Hell, which will present two works by director Boris Acosta, scholar and enthusiast of the Divine Comedy. The documentary Dante’s Hell and Inferno Dantesco Animato, an animated short film that narrates Dante's journey to the underworld.
DANTE’S HELL
USA, 2020, 108’
Direction & Production: Boris Acosta / Screenplay: Dino Di Durante (adaptation) / Cast: Vittorio Gassman, Eric Roberts, Jeff Conaway, Franco Nero, Silvia Colloca, Jenn Gotzon, Vincent Spano / Cinematography: Angelo Acosta, Awik Balaian / Editing: Angelo Acosta / Music: Aldo de Tata, Maria Eolani
Dante’s Hell is a family oriented thriller and four-quadrant breakthrough documentary based on Dante’s Inferno story, the first part of The Divine Commedia. The Infernal Journey begins in a dark forest where Dante is threatened by three wild beasts. He's rescued by his hero Virgil at Beatrice's request, who guides and protects Dante on his dark journey to the center of the Earth where Lucifer resides, and out into Purgatory.
Dante’s Hell is a compelling documentary told by over 30 celebrities, scholars and artists from the USA, the UK, Italy and The Vatican. Visually, it features over 300 paintings and illustrations by Gustave Dore among many other artists and 72 original paintings by Dino Di Durante from Inferno - The Art Collection.
INFERNO DANTESCO ANIMATO
USA, 2019, 39’
Direction & Production: Boris Acosta / Screenplay: Dino Di Durante (adaptation) / Cast: Vittorio Gassman, Vittorio Matteucci, Silvia Colloca, Franco Nero / Animation: Angelo & Boris Acosta / Editing: Angelo Acosta / Music: Aldo de Tata, Maria Eolani
Dante goes on a Journey through the first and the worst part of the afterlife, the Inferno. The story is presented circle by circle in a chronological descent into Hell deeper and deeper. Dante is guided by his mentor Virgil through each circle of Hell and its subdivisions until they reach the centre of the Earth, emerging into Purgatory. It features over 50 original color paintings from the book “Inferno -The Art Collection” and is recited in vernacular Italian in Dante’s own words.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRAILER
Boris Acosta grew up in Uruguay, South America. At the age of 17, he moved with his family to Argentina where he completed high school and started college. Then, he immigrated to the United States as a transfer student and graduated from the University of California in the United States in 1987. He earned a minor in Italian Literature and another one in Engineering.
Nel 2007, Acosta was encouraged to produce a live-action feature film trilogy based on Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece - The Divine Comedy. Since then, he has been working on the development of this amazing trilogy – Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
