Freemantle’s new documentary Luca: Seeing Red focuses on former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo. But it’s not just about Ferrari.
“That was one of the conditions. First, it’s not just about Ferrari. Second, it’s not fiction. I don’t want to see an actor playing Kimi Raikkonen, I want to see Kimi Raikkonen. Third, it’s not about my personal life,” di Montezemolo told Variety in Cannes.
“If you’re passionate about racing and cars, you’ll see them. You’ll see Enzo Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda’s accident and his face scarred by the fire. But this movie is also about Italy.”
Among Di Montezemolo’s other ventures, from starting the yacht racing team Azzurra – “People named their daughters after her!” – to co-founding the rail transport company Italo and spearheading the final concert of three tenors.
“It was difficult to convince Pavarotti. He said, ‘Why should I share[the stage]with these two? I can do it by myself,'” he laughs, recalling the incident that brought Pavarotti together with Plácido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
“This film gave me an opportunity to reflect on everything I’ve done.”
Joined by Top Gear’s Chris Harris, the doc looks back on the long journey that began in the 1970s when Di Montezemolo was hired as Enzo Ferrari’s assistant.
“Although I was only 25 years old, I always liked taking risks and putting my face forward. I have won 19 F1 championship titles and I know how much hard work went behind these victories. You have to choose the right people and have clear goals, but I am lucky to have art in my life, my family and my friends. Apart from maybe your health, these are absolute priorities.”
The film, presented to buyers at Mipcom, offers a “great combination of archival and new material,” but some of its charm remains intact.
“Ferrari is a myth,” says di Montezemolo.
“Even Raikkonen said that Ferrari was always his dream when he started racing for Sauber and McLaren (he drove for Ferrari and won the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship). There is a beautiful shot in the film of a red Ferrari in a square called Piazza Sette Chiese in Bologna. We are showing a different Italy than the typical (combination) of Florence, Venice and Rome.”
Director Manish Pandey, who also directed the award-winning Senna, says, “For me, this film is about two things. The Italian setting is of course, but it’s about loyalty and family. That’s the theme that runs through every frame. There’s an important line at the end: ‘Aside from my family, the most important thing in my life is my Ferrari.'”
“To tell this story, you need to understand Luca, you need to understand Italy. That’s why we paired him with Chris, who sees Luca as a father figure,” he said, calling the film’s third act “essential.”
“He’s always saying ‘yes’ to the Agnellis family (behind the Fiat) and you’re watching them give him impossible tasks. And then all of a sudden, that’s when Chris comes into the movie. There’s a turning point. He spends two-thirds of the story listening. But in the last act, he’s completely part of the drama. And it’s a difficult one. It’s a corporate assassination that happens right before your eyes.”
The film has already been shown in Rome and London.
“Obviously, this is not a hypothetical F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, but[theatrical partner]Everyman Cinemas saw it and loved it. They screened it in 30 theaters and 18 of those screenings were completely sold out,” Pandey says. In Rome, it was shown to a selected audience at the Parco della Musica Auditorium.
“I was very happy that 900 people came not for actors and actresses, but for me. I didn’t expect that,” di Montezemolo added. “In Rome, when people watch movies, they usually talk to each other and make comments. Now they were silent.”
