DREAMING BY NUMBERS

North American Premiere

Every morning, they arrive at the gambling offices, or "ricevitore." Holding a superstitious belief (which seems to pose no threat to this traditional Catholic community) that numbers have the power to influence the future, the citizens of Naples, Italy line up to place their bets. One by one, they wait, wondering if today will be the day that changes their fates.

Confessing their hopes and dreams to the women working behind the glass partitions, the gamblers bet on their lives. All the while, the dream merchants behind the glass, Maria and Angela, listen intently as they thumb through the Grimas, an ancient book which applies corresponding numbers to every imaginable idea.

Following the stories of the ricevitore's regulars, which include a mafia-tied matriarch attempting to recover from the death of her grandson, a transsexual bingo host who hopes to improve her luck and an agitated customer desperate to decipher the meaning of his nightmare about a limping cockroach, DREAMING BY NUMBERS explores how playing the numbers borne out of one's imaginings has a powerful influence on the day-to-day reality of this Italian community.

-Amy Dotson

Sponsored by
The Italian Cultural Institute

DIRECTOR BIO
Anna Bucchetti was born in Milan, Italy, and graduated from the Film Academy in Milan in 1991 as a cinematographer. She currently resides in Amsterdam and has written and directed a number of documentary shorts for Dutch television, which explore cultural and political issues. Her recent documentary UNA STORIA ITALIANA (2002) took a critical look at the effects of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media ownership on Italian democracy. Buccheti also directed the award-winning SOLIDAIR (1998), a short documentary that follows the experiences of a young Albanian refugee in Italy.

Print Source:
Armadillo Film
PO Box 51056
Amsterdam, 1007 EB
Netherlands
info@armadillofilm.nl

6/15 at 1:00 PM

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