CINDERELLA | DVD 2011

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  Vanessa Hessler   Flavio Parenti
  

Cinderella is a timeless classic and this new version brings a modern spin to the story while keeping firmly in mind the love and care the original source material requires.

The story unfolds in mid-1950's Rome, a giddy time of renewal for the city, filled with romanticism and spanning the threshold between our modern world and that of the past.

The first post-WWII decade in Rome was an exciting time of rebirth for a city and people who had weathered many a storm. Similar to Cinderella who, faced with brutal adversity, discovers her destiny and finds true love the mid-50's were a time when not only Rome, but also the world at large, embraced a renewed prosperity and lust for life. Although the famous film, La Dolce Vita (The Good Life) was a few years away Romans had already coined the phrase. It was a time when TV was making a strong emergence and would grow into a worldwide phenomenon, revolutionizing the culture. 'The paparazzo' (an Italian invention) was catching the glamour of celebrities and excitement of new wealth that were sweeping Rome.

Our story begins with AURORA as a budding teenager and a pianist. She lost her mother at her birth, but has the enduring love of her well-known conductor father, VALERIO. Bringing the same passion, commitment and devotion to his beloved daughter as he does to his music, Valerio marries Aurora's governess, IRENE, hoping to give his daughter a new family. As fate would have it, Aurora accidentally ventures into the estate next door and meets a mysterious neighbour, SEBASTIAN.

A few years older than her, he seems to be her soul mate - a sensitive boy, who dreams to be a writer one day. Feeling that deep connection, Aurora falls in love for the first time. But the magic of the moment is brutally interrupted when Valerio has a heart attack and dies, unaware that he made a grave mistake by trusting Irene with his last will, which was supposed to protect Aurora.

The girl's resolve is truly tested when she realises that Irene and her two selfish daughters have no intention of treating her like an equal. Soon after Valerio's death, Irene turns his villa into a boutique hotel and forces Aurora to work there as a servant. The prospect of seeing Sebastian again is also cut short when Aurora finds out that he and his family left the estate for good. As the misery of her new life fully sinks in, Aurora clings to her music and the precious memories of meeting Sebastian. A copy of his beloved book, The Little Price, which he gave to her during their magical encounter, becomes her best companion and emotional anchor until.

Eight years later, Sebastian appears again. Thrilled, Aurora hopes to reconnect with the beautiful and artistic prince she first met reading the pages of his book. But life has been pretty difficult for Sebastian as well. Due to some tragic circumstances, he seems greatly changed. Having adopted the manner and values of a budding businessman to please his overly ambitious father, Sebastian has buried his dreams and is only focused on maintaining his family's fortune.

Immersed in a potential merger between his father's company and an Italian industrialist, Sebastian faces off with a mysterious American millionaire, MRS. COOPER, who tries to steal the deal from him. Once a silent era movie star, who has since made her fortune in oil, Mrs. Cooper also turns out to be Aurora's long estranged grandmother. Staying incognito at Irene's hotel, she tries to win her granddaughter's love and forgiveness.

Unaware of that connection, Aurora ironically relies on the old lady's wisdom, trying to win Sebastian s love and hoping to change him back into the artistic spirit that he once was.

*THIS IS ON DVD-R