Andrea—the subject of directorial duo Yuri Pirondi and Ines von Bonhorst’s latest film—is a high-wire walker. Treading far above the ground with a mixture of caution and sure-footed confidence, the expert performer (who also holds a PhD in philosophy) struck the filmmakers not only because of his artistry, but for his patient and insightful view on life.
“As we walk forward along the wire, we encounter risks but we also face the infinite”
The resulting film is not simply a dare-devil profile, but a symbolic and dreamlike journey where the wire represents the “timeline of our lives,” as Pirondi and von Bonhorst explain. “As we walk forward along the wire, we encounter risks but we also face the infinite. In Andrea’s dream, reality and the subconscious merge through his stream of consciousness”. This conceptual approach to the hair-raising spectacle also influenced the choice of location—Bagnoregio, where Italian auteur Federico Fellini filmed “his ciruqesque masterpiece La Strada, whose landscapes feel suspended and create a perfect environment for a dream-like imaginary.”
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