MARIO RIZZI::::
born 1962, Barletta, Italy
lives and works in Turin

Rizzi’s work examines without judgement the intricacies and particularities of the individual. He looks deeply at individuals by placing himself at the center. Rizzi’s work is frequently produced through residencies, at a site with a particular situation or set of circumstances between individuals, steering past political judgements. Rizzi investigates these gaps between individuals by searching the limits of psychological and physical borders.

The film Murat and Ismail was produced during Rizzi’s three-month residency in istanbul for the 9th Istanbul Biennial. He considered different options for portraying life in the city and focused on a single family-run shoemaker’s shop in the neighborhood of Beyoglu, istanbul. As the nature of the relationship between the father (Ismail) and his son (Murat) gradually emerges, we are introduced to other characters who visit the shop and try in different ways to take advantage of their difficult economic situation. As with much of Rizzi’s previous work, the piece manages to be both sympathetic and direct, recording the intimacy, hopes, and fears of people who are subject to forces beyond their control. Their discussions in the film examine the different generations’ values, showing the deep connections between father and son as well as their loyalty to family. Both can be seen as microcosms for the general situation of the city of Istanbul—a city that is subject to large economic and social changes. the film is a private and intimate documentation of the life of father and son, wherein the border between reality and fiction disappears.

Mario Rizzi's webpage