May 23 – Sils Maria is a remote town in the Swiss Alps, object of the film by Olivier Assayas, “Clouds of Sils Maria,” currently competing in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, there is also a little bit of Italy, thanks to the international co-production that involved the German Pallas Film GmbH, the French CG Cinéma SA and the BLS – Film Fund & Commission of South Tyrol, which contributed € 350.000 to the film. “Although the script was set in Switzerland, several scenes of the movie were shot in South Tyrol, in locations chosen thanks to the involvement of the South Tyrolean location manager, Daniel Defranceschi, who worked with location scout Florian Mohn. The scenes were filmed in Val Gardena, specifically the area around Col Raiser, the Juac shelter, and the Hotel Grodnerhof in Ortisei. Some scenes were also filmed at the Parkhotel Laurin in Bolzano. The film saw the participation of Indigo Film and Echo Film as executive producers.” The film, in competition for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, stars Juliette Binoche, who plays Maria Enders, an actress who stars in the play that brought her fame 20 years before: this time, instead of Sigrid, a young and charming girl who pushes her boss to suicide, she interprets the “old” Helena. The rehearsals for the show, in Sils Maria, are the occasion for Maria Enders to assess her career and life objectives.
