Tommaso Frangini’s (Film/Video MFA 20) thesis film Finis Terrae will compete as part of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (International Film Critics’ Week) section at the upcoming 77th Venice International Film Festival (Sept. 2-12). The film is among seven features in SIC@SIC, or the Short Italian Cinema (SIC) category of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (also abbreviated as SIC).
Finis Terrae follows Travis and Peter, two childhood friends now in their mid-20s. The pair decide to spend a winter weekend camping on California’s Pacific coast to celebrate Travis’ departure for school abroad. While Travis is about to embark on a new chapter of his life, Peter is in a depressed state, feeling stagnant in his hometown and unsure of his future path. The desolate setting underlies the differences between two people who once shared an unbreakable connection, and are now unsure of how to communicate with each other.
The phrase “finis terrae” is Latin for “the end of the land.” Environment plays an active role in the film, which was shot at Montaña De Oro State Park in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Frangini described the setting as a “desolate landscape” which “envelops the protagonists and their insecurities.”
“My project aims to tell what is considered the mid-twenties crisis, a depression state that touches a lot of young people in a desperate search for a trajectory for their lives,” Frangini shared on the project’s Indeigogo page. “This project also has a personal component, as I’m exploring for the first time the theme of friendship and farewell, something I experienced moving here to the US to attend CalArts.”
Written and produced by Frangini, Finis Terrae features a host of CalArtian talent:
- Cinematography: Ignacio Genzòn (Art BFA 05)
- Screenplay (co-writer): Cayley Cyrena Costello (Theater MFA 20)
- Sound: Dawn Givens (Film/Video MFA 18)
- Costume design: Zhen Zhen Zhong (Art-Theater MFA 18)
- Art direction: Jadyn Yoon (Theater BFA 20)
- Cast: Ryan Masson (Theater MFA 15)
- Co-producers: Rui Xu (Theater MFA 20) and Betty Hu (Theater MFA 18)
Frangini is an Italian filmmaker whose previous films include Ecate (2017) and The Plague (2017), both selected and awarded in several international film festivals. While studying at CalArts, he directed the shorts Patient 1642 (2018) and Memories of a Stranger (2019), the latter inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground.
Check out the full International Film Critics’ Week lineup here.