The Italian director and actress concludes her "Subconscious Trilogy" with a work inspired by Orphic cosmology, the myth of Anankee, and the Ouroboros. After its September 8th screening at the Venice Lido, the film will be released online starting September 9th via a QR code published by the Hollywood Reporter.
Samantha Casella brings to Venice “The Tenderness of the Serpent” , the third and final chapter of her “Trilogy of the Subconscious” , which began with Santa Guerra and continued with Katabasis.
The Italian director presented the work at the Hotel Excelsior on the Lido of Venice , where on 8 September at 20.30 pm, in the Tropicana room, a 40-minute extract of the feature film was screened for the public.
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The new work comes after Katabasis , the 2024 film which, according to what was reported, obtained over 600 international awards.
Starting September 9th, “The Serpent’s Tenderness” will also be distributed online by scanning a QR code published by the Hollywood Reporter magazine, thus adding a distribution method aimed at directly reaching an international audience alongside the Venice presentation.
“On the one hand, we celebrate the film in the temple of cinema, on the other, we offer it directly to an international audience, without barriers,” says Samantha Casella.
“The Tenderness of the Serpent”: Orphic Cosmology, Ananke, and the Myth of the Ouroboros
At the heart of The Tenderness of the Serpent is a narrative universe constructed through mythology, symbolism and psychological dimension.
The film draws particularly on Orphic cosmology and the myth of Ananke , the goddess of Necessity who governs the Universe. These elements are intertwined with the cyclical symbolism of the Ouroboros , the serpent eating its own tail, which represents the circular nature of time.
These references contribute to the intimate and emotional construction of the protagonist, Sofia , played by Samantha Casella herself, a character suspended between the weight of destiny and a sense of guilt.
"The Tenderness of the Serpent spans eras, time periods, perhaps even entire dimensions. Sofia is perpetually torn between the real world, which makes her an imperfect woman, prone to weaknesses and feelings, and a primordial universe that has chosen her, 'touched' her, and covered her in darkness."
The real and the primordial dimensions thus end up coexisting within the same narrative path, following a construction that places the character's fragility at the center and, at the same time, his relationship with something larger and more inevitable.
Samantha Casella's "Subconscious Trilogy" concludes
The Tenderness of the Serpent represents the final chapter of the “Trilogy of the Subconscious” , a cinematic journey that began with Santa Guerra and subsequently developed through Katabasis.
The three works are united by recurring themes and images, built around the dimension of the subconscious, trauma and internal wound.
The journey into the subconscious that characterizes the entire trilogy is fueled by constant symbolic themes. Trauma acts as a driving force, the wound to the soul triggers events that move the protagonist through the circularity of time: the myth of the Ouroboros, a serpent that eats its own tail and defines the cyclical nature of time, is revived.
Even in the third chapter the director chooses a non-linear narrative structure , accompanied by archetypal images and cultural references.
The film also features references to Holbein and Dostoevsky , within a narrative characterised by dramatic tension, symbolic settings and visionary atmospheres.
Samantha Casella: "All stories have the same exact story at their core."
Behind the complex construction of the work remains, according to Casella, a reflection deeply linked to human experience.
I believe that all stories carry the same exact story. Places, times, and forms change, but the joys, sorrows, and everything that ignites the human heart always tell the same story. The questions that truly matter in life are very few, and they are the same for each of us.
Symbolism thus becomes not an element behind which to hide the narrative, but a tool used to connect the personal tensions of the protagonists to a dimension that can take on a broader and more collective value.
The director herself emphasizes how, despite the complexity and layering of her works, the human component always remains central.
“This is why I think that my films, however visionary, layered and at times difficult, always retain a strong and pulsating humanity.”
Samantha Casella director and protagonist of the film
In The Tenderness of the Serpent , Samantha Casella not only directs, but also plays the protagonist.
A double role that adds to the personal care of the film's photography , making the work on set and the control of the visual component particularly complex.
The director says she initially feared that the commitment in front of the camera could take away attention from the direction of the work, a concern she had already addressed during the making of Katabasis.
"Initially, much like with Katabasis, I was worried that my acting role might sap my energy and focus from directing. I think it's a natural fear, especially in my films, where I also personally oversee the photography and therefore have total visual control."
A demanding experience, but one that Casella describes as an integral part of his way of conceiving cinema.
"Juggling this dual role has been tiring, but unhindered. My films are born from a deep urge within me and, in one way or another, absorb every part of me."
With “The Tenderness of the Serpent” , the journey started through Santa Guerra and Katabasis thus reaches its third chapter, once again bringing together the subconscious, trauma, myth, destiny and the circularity of time in the cinematic universe built by Samantha Casella.
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