Films in Golden Goblet Competition | "First Day of My Life": The Director Hopes His New Film Will Be Remade

On the afternoon of June 15, the Italian film THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE, one of the Main Competition Official Selections of the Golden Goblet Awards at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), held a meet-and-greet with its crew. The director, Paolo Genovese, had an interview with the press.

Upon meeting, Paolo expressed his delight to the media at being able to return to the SIFF. This marks his fourth visit. He recounted his previous experiences: first bringing his film THE PERFECT FAMILY, then the highly acclaimed PERFECT STRANGERS (Perfetti sconosciuti), and subsequently serving as a judge for the main competition. Paolo stated, "For me, the SIFF presents an excellent opportunity to showcase films, and it is an honor to bring my work here and receive feedback from Chinese audiences."

The Premise of the New Work is Inspired by a Documentary

THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE was set in a quite intriguing context: four individuals with varying life experiences have all fallen into the troughs of their lives and decided to commit suicide. Then, a mysterious person appears and tells them that they will have the chance to restart their lives in the coming week...

Besides being a film director and screenwriter, Paolo Genovese is also an author. THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE is adapted from his novel "The First Day of My Life," which has previously been introduced to China.

The inspiration for PERFECT STRANGERS came from Paolo's friends, while the genesis of THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE arose from strangers. Paolo recounted how he had once watched a documentary about suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco: "I was deeply moved after watching that documentary because it usually only takes seven seconds for someone to hit the water after jumping from that bridge. Seven seconds is an incredibly short amount of time, and reportedly, after those seven seconds, most people tend to feel regret; they regret the decision they made."

This stimulated Paolo's reflections on human nature and life itself. In the film, he sets a seven-day "countdown" for his characters to alter their destinies. However, even so, many people may find it challenging to genuinely transform or extricate themselves from their predicaments in such a short period. Paolo posits: "It's because changing one's mindset can be quite challenging." In the film, some people embrace their new lives and manage to emerge from their despair, while others are unable to change their circumstances and ultimately choose death...

He Doesn't Mind His New Work Being Remade

Most people came to know Paolo Genovese through the movie PERFECT STRANGERS. The film was the second highest-grossing film in Italy that year, winning Best Picture and Best Screenplay at the David di Donatello Awards, as well as the Best Screenplay Award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Subsequently, the film was remade in over ten countries, including by Chinese film companies. Regarding this, Paolo expressed feelings of both delight and reluctance. "As a creator, I'm happy because of the royalties, but because my original work has been adapted with elements from other countries and remade into different versions, I feel a bit reluctant at heart."

However, he revealed that he is quite open to his new work THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE being remade, because thoughts on life can vary greatly across different countries, regions, and cultural backgrounds. "If elements from their countries can be incorporated, displaying their reflections with a broad audience, it might indeed make for a fantastic story."