After years of their city being dubbed “dead” and “doomed” by the media, a group of Venetians has come together to produce a film that seeks to change Venice’s international image. Anima Veneziana, or Venetian Soul, will be a non-profit film focusing on the residents of Venice in a bid to portray it as dynamic and alive.

Choosing Crowdfunding

Founder of the project Monica Cesarato, a local food and travel blogger, and film director Federico Bizzarini are raising production costs through crowdfunding. This ensures the film remains impartial and non-political. Cesarato explains, “If we went to an official sponsor, they might control the story. It could become a publicity video. Crowdfunding means we are free to make the film how we envisage.” 

The film will require €50,000 to be raised through crowdfunding. Bizzarini explains this is necessary both for the difficulties of moving around Venice and for the filming equipment required. 

Cesarato acknowledges that it is a large amount and it will be a challenge to raise. “Some people have reservations about donating to crowdfunded projects because they have been ripped off so often, so we’re trying to be as transparent as possible. We’re talking about the project, doing interviews and providing the business plan to anyone who asks,” Cesarato explains. 

Crowdfunding Forges Connections

Crowdfunding reaches a large audience who get the chance to participate in an endeavor they feel passionate about. “Unfortunately we’ve started right in the middle of a massive crisis so people are struggling,” muses Cesarato. But with donations starting at €10, she hopes investing in the film is accessible to as many people as possible. 

Using the Anima Veneziana website and social media pages, the team are reaching an international audience at a low cost. This has given people from around the world the opportunity to feel connected to a cause they consider meaningful.

“We hope crowdfunding means people feel part of our project and feel invested in the image of the city we want to portray.”

Federico Bizzarini

“People abroad feel like they can finally do something for the city. A lot of people were sending me messages during lockdown asking how they could help and where they could send money,” adds Cesarato.

The crowdfunding will also benefit businesses in the city. Donations of €100 upwards will be rewarded with €10 vouchers to be spent in commercial activities in Venice participating in the project. “The vouchers will require a minimum spending amount of say €30. From this, the €10 will then be discounted, so local businesses will benefit,” explains Cesarato. The vouchers cannot be spent online so Cesarato hopes it will encourage visitors to the city. 

Changing Venice’s Image

Cesarato had the idea for the film during Italy’s coronavirus lockdown. This restricted international travel and halted the usual hordes of tourists converging on Venice. 

“We were all pretty annoyed about the portrayal of the city during lockdown. The narrative was very negative, depicting an empty Venice, just iconic monuments and no people in the streets,” says Cesarato. The dearth of tourists was a sharp contrast to previous springs, but the city was far from “dead”.

“Nobody was talking about what was really happening. Young people were helping the elderly with the shopping and a sense of community arose from lockdown.”

Monica Cesarato

Cesarato and Bizzarini, in collaboration with Romena Brugnerotto, a tourist guide and Venetian blogger, and Lorenzo Pezzano, director of photography, hope the film will bring this side of the city to the fore, to show the life behind the iconic facades. 

Bizzarini, who will direct Anima Veneziana, shares Cesarato’s desire to alter the narrative of Venice. “I have done documentaries around the world but I still haven’t really worked for my own city. I was immediately passionate about the idea to recapture the image of this martyred city,” says Bizzarini. 

Bizzarini explains that Venice’s bad press has been going on since before COVID-19 lockdown and the record high-tide that hit the city in November, damaging businesses, houses and ancient monuments.

Prior to these struggles, mass tourism was overwhelming the city. “We want to portray a place beyond tourism beginning with artisans and talking about all the people who live in the city, which is not just for tourists, not just a Disneyland,” Bizzarini explains.

A Film About the Soul of Venice and Its People

Bizzarini’s personal, intimate filming style, which has allowed him to capture individual stories within big group events such as the Purna Kumbh Mela pilgrimage in India, will help Anima Veneziana to focus closely on the Venetian people.

As Cesarato comments, “The soul of Venice is its people. Everybody concentrates on the monuments. But those monuments wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people who built them and take care of them.”  

Bizzarini has worked on hard-hitting documentaries such as the centenary commemorations of the 1915 Armenian genocide. He has also filmed public events and produced commercials. He hopes the Anima Veneziana film will prove a chance to use the various skills he has accumulated and be something new for his career. 

“My previous documentaries used a lot of speech to explain what was happening. Here I want to work much more with photography in a way that makes the people emerge from within the city,” says Bizzarini.

Despite focusing on the city’s residents, Cesarato affirms the film will not be publicity for specific businesses or a series of interviews. She explains, “The film is a story concentrating on the categories of people that live and work in the city.”

Bizzarini adds, “There will not be the classic narrative voice. It will be the images that draw you into the film, letting you savor the city.” 

The film will focus particularly on craftspeople and artisans who get little support from the council, Cesarato explains. “When these businesses close, that’s it, a thousand years of history disappearing.”

The Fight Against Mass Tourism in Venice

By focusing on those who use the city as a home or place of work, Cesarato and her team hope to change the way tourists visit the city, something Cesarato has been fighting for for years through her writing. 

“Venice needs to be visited for more than 48 hours. There is more than St Mark’s Square and the Rialto. It’s about appreciating the culture and the food through the artisans and hidden’ locations. We want to entice a different kind of tourist who is curious about the city.”

Monica Cesarato

Cesarato frequently blogs about Venice’s unstable relationship with tourism. She is determined to release the film as soon as possible in order to capitalize on the city’s realization that an economic monoculture of tourism is unsustainable. “Venetians have realized that they can’t just live on tourism, or they can, but it needs to be a different kind,” she says.

Bizzarini, too, comments that the economy of the city needs to revolve around its inhabitants. The current tourism-centered model pushes up rent and house prices, resulting in a city hemorrhaging residents. “If there are no more Venetians, how can this city go on?” he asks. 

The film marks a culmination both of Cesarato’s fight for sustainable tourism in Venice and Bizzarini’s desire to use his art to help his city. As Cesarato says, “This is the moment that we can make a change.”