IFFR KINO #35: Mi chiamo Francesco Totti

Not the film itself, but the audience is what makes a film ‘cult’. While it’s too early to tell whether Mi chiamo Francesco Totti by Alex Infascelli will go down in history as a cult film, the documentary turned out to be the crowd pleaser at IFFR 2021: the film won the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award at the June edition of the festival.

IFFR has a long-running love affair with football: from Wim Wenders’ Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter at the very first edition of the festival, to Johan Cruyff, who attended the world premiere in Rotterdam of En un momento dado, a film about his years in Barcelona. Then this year there was Mi chiamo Francesco Totti, a retrospect of the more than 25 years Francesco Totti spent at AS Roma. The attacker never played for another club.

How do you reminisce about a quarter century of memories? With footage, of course; reams of it. Director Alex Infascelli pulled out an impressive quantity of archival footage to help Totti tell his story. While the crisp editing sequences the events, the footballer provides the commentary. Sometimes he rewinds or pauses to highlight the best moments.

With its driving tempo, Mi chiamo Francesco Totti regularly feels like a rollercoaster ride. Momentous joyous occasions, followed by crushing setbacks and vice versa. From legacy goals to hot-tempered arguments and from familial love to eternal loyalty to the club: everything exudes passion.

Wednesday, 3 November, 19:00 hours, KINO Rotterdam.