Carnera The Walking Mountain

RENZO MARTINELLI was born in Milano, Italy. After graduating with a degree in Languages and Foreign Literature, he specialized in cinematography at the Advanced School of Social Communications at Cattolica University.
In the '70s, he established a production company and started working as a director for Rai (the Italian State Television), producing several "current event" reportages. In that same period, he directed several video clips for famous singers, among which Alice, Battiato, Van Halen, Dalla, Tozzi, Pino Daniele, Alan Parson, the Rockets. At the end of the '80s he undertook work in advertising, becoming one of Italy's top directors in that field, producing commercials for Carrera Jeans, Ballantine's, Sony, Opel Vectra, Dreher Beer, Montenegro, Bayer Aspirin and ENI, as well as several socially-oriented "Publicity for Progress" spots.
As a documentary-film maker, in the role of director and producer, he completed over a hundred works, many about the history of arts, among which “Giulio Romano” (about the construction of the Mantua Tea Palace), “The Royal Palace of the Gonzagas”, and “The Duomo of Milan”, just to mention a few. His cinema debut takes place in 1993 with "Sarahsarà", the true story of a handicapped black girl with an extraordinary aptitude for swimming, whose great ambition is to participate in the Capri - Naples contest, the world's most gruelling long distance race.
In '97 he directed "Porzus", the story of the fratricidal massacre between partisans that took place in February of '45. Exhibited at the Venice Film Festival, it was considered the cinematographic event of the year. In 2000 he directed "Vajont," a movie about the tragic collapse of a hydro-electric dam in 1963. Shot in Cinemascope and Extended Dolby Surround, with 270 digital sequences, "Vajont" received awards and recognitions at major film festivals and exhibitions, including a Golden Globe from the foreign press for best direction, a “David of Donatello” prize for best film (as voted by the schools), a “Golden Cup” at St. Vincent for best film, (as voted by the public), a Silver Ribbon to Leo Gullotta for best supporting role, the Fellini Prize, Golden Slate.
In 2003 Martinelli's film "Piazza delle 5 Lune" re-opened, after 25 years, the notorious Aldo Moro case. Famous movie critic Tullio Kezich commented: "...a thriller so rigorously exact as to oftentimes give the illusion of being a documentary. Through the artifice of a Super8, he reconstructs the Via Fani Massacre in a way never before seen, driving the story forward with vibrant passion..." (Corriere della Sera - May 9, 2003).
In 2005 he obtained a big success with the television fiction “La bambina dale mani sporche”, featuring the famous Italian actress Ornella Muti. He then produced and directed the film “The Stone Merchant”, starring Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Jane March e Jordi Mollà. The film was released in 2006 and provoked controversies because of the theme it treated: the conflict between Islam and the West.
His latest work, “Carnera – The walking mountain” is considered the most important post-production job ever made in Europe: 1,500 digital shots were created to bring back to life the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Wagram Hall in Paris, the Madison Square Garden and the Garden Bowl in New York as they were in the 1930s.

THE CAST
Andrea Iaia
Anna Valle
Antonio Cupo
Burt Young
Kasia Smutniak
F. Murray Abraham
Paolo Seganti
Paul Sorvino

THE DIRECTOR
Renzo Martinelli

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