Umberto Eco: A Library of the World
The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.
A documentary immersion into all things Eco, Davide Ferrario’s film takes us on a tour of Umberto Eco’s private library, guided by the author himself. Combining new footage with material he shot with Eco in 2015 for a video installation for the Venice Biennale, Ferrario documents this incredible collection and the man who amassed it. As Eco leads us among the more than 50,000 volumes, we also gain insight into the library of the mind of this vastly prolific and original thinker.
Davide Ferrario
David Ferrario is a contemporary Italian screenwriter, writer and director. He made his directorial debut with the short film Non date da mangiare agli animali in 1987, followed by the feature film La fine della notte in 1989.
He worked as a screenwriter with Daniel Segre on the documentary Occhi che videro in 1989, then the film Manila Paloma Blanca in 1992, which won the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul International Film Festival in 1993. In 1999, he wrote the screenplay for the film In principio erano le mutande directed by Anna Negri. Davide Ferrario writes most of his films, which are rarely released outside Italy. In 2004, he directed Dopo mezzanotte, which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival the same year and released in cinemas in 2005.
