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“UpsiteTown” a dystopian film by Sara Balestrieri Chapter One: From an italian legend to political crisis CHAPTER TWO: THE UPSIDE chapter three: the court and politicians - characters’ development CHAPTER FOUR: THE PERFORMERS chapter FIVE: the invisibles of the upside - BEHIND THE SCENES INDEX chapter six: the downside chapter seven: From the page it comes to life cHAPTER EIGHT: the final designs of upsidetown CHAPTER ONE from an italian legend to political crisis ONCE UPON A TIME: THE BEGINNING This story was inspired by an Italian legend relating to a beauti- that isn’t, however, the reality. To protect her feelings and emo- ful palace in Vicenza: Villa Valmarana ai Nani. tions, her parents keep the little princess in a bubble of lies. The legend talks about a dwarf small girl, Princess Layana, I analyzed this theme, focusing on the passage between the daughter of one of the noble owners of the villa. Because of childhood and adult age, and its loss of innocence as her deformity, the parents ordered that the young woman lived consequence. I built this character grew in a world detached confined within the high walls of the mansion and, to avoid from reality, which makes her develop a distorted vision of life, hurting the girl’s feelings, all the servants and custodians of the embellishing it and enriching it with wonders. This doesn’t let villa were chosen exclusively among the dwarves. her know to see the truth: she grows up in a world of injustice and pain, provoked by her father who is the head of the gov- The myth of the princess never seen before and confined in the ernment and he wants to maintain this situation of disparity for villa started to circulate amongst the folks of the village, until personal advantages. one day a prince decided to enter the complex and look for the girl. When he succeeded, upon seeing him, Layana became Not by chance, I chose a female protagonist to tell it: There was a time when men were kind. aware of her condition and fell into so much despair that she generally, all children, if born in a wealthy context, tend to be took her own life by jumping off the tower. At that point the raised in a bubble made up of illusions, but if females this atti- When their voices were soft. faithful but desperate dwarf servants turned into stone. tude increases. And their words inviting. Even today the 17 dwarfs guard the eternal sleep of Layana Because they are wrongly considered more vulnerable and sen- placed on the walls of the villa… Villa Valmarana takes its name sitive, often symbols of naivety, society tends to create a more There was a time when love was blind. from them. beautiful world around girls, even aesthetically, removing any argument that can upset them. And the world was a song. I liked the idea of a girl, prisoner in a wonderful world, And the song was exciting. There was a time... Then it all went wrong. Les Misérables | I Dreamed A Dream Villa Valmarana ai Nani, Vicenza SYNOPSIS A girl kept far away from the cruel reality by a UpsideTown is a huge city divided into two: in the upside politicians, celebrities, The next morning Anne disappeared and no one seems to care. businessmen, and businesswomen live on top of very high skyscrapers, surrounded That evening Jane can’t sleep and, wandering through the immense palace, she powerful father, who is trying to save his posi- by magnificent gardens and elegant buildings. Down in the downside, workers live finds herself by chance at a sort of brothel: her father is there, drunk, while pas- tion in a society too tired of inequality. in a dirty and polluted environment, where they work incessantly to keep the sionately kissing a dear friend of Jane, Lucrezia. Upside at its best. The two worlds are uniquely connected by the elevators of the But the daughter faces the truth and she will skyscrapers, where the goods are shipped from below to above. Shocked by the latest discovery, Jane isolates herself from the court and her re- find herself in front of deciding what is right, lationships with her father cool down, even more, leading the girl to approach The only way for one of the downside to access to the Upside is to become part of the Donna, a politician that is clashing with Edward and the government. Donna ex- discovering that, in any case, she has to get her theatre company of the Prime Minister, created for her daughter. Every year, just for plains to her that her father will not permit her to become the new leader once hand dirty. one day, there are the auditions. she is 17 and that he is keeping her segregated in the Upside, while there is a whole world around her in poverty because of his father’s policies. Jane is the daughter of the prime minister, Edward, who heads the city of Upside Town. At the age of 17, according to tradition, she will be the new minister and will Meanwhile, Jessie joined the theater company and comes into contact with the replace the father in the government. This important event is less than a year away, luxury of the Upside and the exploitation of the company members, who are which will mark Jane’s growth and bring her into adulthood. Still, Jane does not feel reluctant to join her, like Crystal, the show’s main star. ready to invest in this role: her father has not prepared her for this at all and seems to have no intention of doing it even in the last few months. The girl starts to get Donna gives an ultimatum to Jane: a coup is being organized. If she joins the impatient: she wants to know everything. The responsibility of an entire state group, Donna will defend her and come out unscathed, otherwise, she will leave will soon fall on her shoulders, but Edward keeps her away from the govern- her alone. ment and its various work commitments. Jane’s days pass surrounded by her small For the last time, Jane wants to talk to her father, but a fierce confrontation opens palace courtyard, among small talk, sumptuous lunches, walks in the vast flower gar- and Edward admits that she would never become prime minister. She is weak, dens and evening shows. Her life goes on quietly, built on rigid rules and limitations not a leader. to be respected. Jane is surrounded by a lot of beauty, but it is not charming any- more, always the same for too many years. Jane needs something new: an adventure. The next morning, Donna is found murdered in her rooms. Jane finally goes to Jessie and organize the uprising. Jessie, a young worker in a textile company who, tired of her life without pros- pects, instead of complaining just like everyone else, is organizing a revolt. She has That evening, during another show, Ellie accesses the surveillance system and a contact inside the upside, but she needs people to help her in this operation and manages to open all the city elevators. She, Key and a huge group of rioters come she hires Key in the team, a turbulent but strong boy who works at the steel plant, and and go in the Upside. The battle begins. Jane and Edward are enjoying the show Ellie, a hacker who works in an electronic factory, science and tech expert. with the court, but the actors leave the stage and Jessie comes. The father stands The plan is to get Jessie into the theater company - the new ban is open - and to kill in front of Jane to protect her. But Jane pulls out a gun and points it at Ed- the Prime Minister and his descendant, thus leaving the government without a ward. Face in tears, she finally shoots. The rest of the rioters come in and Jessie leader and starting the coup. follows them to enter the government building. Jane remains with her father until his death. They forgive each other, but when he passes away Jane is grief-stricken. One evening, Jane confides in her nanny Anne all her doubts and fears about her future: she has the sensation to live in an illusion, where she can’t see what it’s true or The government has fallen: Jane, together with Jessie, Key, Ellie, and Crystal, not. Anne then urges her to grow and try to know the truth. form a new government, organizing soon the elections. For a new future. THEMES: power and injustice When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best. they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. d. trump Orientals ... have larger brains and higher IQ scores. Blacks are at the other pole. b. johnson Mexican wall Donald Trump Protests for the polluted water in Flint [on Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Houston’arena] "Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the peo- ple in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this... this is working very well for them.'' B. Bush democracy: the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which Boris Johnson Immigrants in the Mediterrean Sea Matteo Salvini power is either held by elected representatives or direct- ly by the people themselves -cambridge dictionary- “26,000 unreported sexual assults in the military-only 238 convictions. what did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?” d.