Born and raised in Milan, Federica Schiavello moved to the UK to study screenwriting at Bournemouth University. Here began her career as a producer and filmmaker, forming the creative collective Wayerism (or WAYE) alongside Jay “Cans1” Ganduglia and managing several productions, including Josh Cole’s Labour party short ‘Long Way Home’. It isn’t surprising then that her short film Stay Behind cultivates this political activism and takes it back to Italy.
Set around the period colloquially known as The Years Of Lead, we are guided through multiple significant moments that rocked Northern Italy between the 50’s and 90’s by Antonella, a mysterious spy said to have had a hand in each matter. Played by Heléna Antonio, it’s clear she’s continued the momentum from her award-winning short film ‘2020’ with a stellar performance here. Based on true events, there’s a lot of ground to cover from conspiracies to drug trafficking and even a prime ministerial assassination. The information comes thick and fast, which I found a little overwhelming due to my limited knowledge only stretching as far as research for my Il Buco review.
However, despite my ignorance, the story of corruption is clear and told excellently through Schiavello’s great direction and editing. Each scene seamlessly transitions through the years via ambitious camera trickery and Antonio’s costume changes, conveying further suspense as an ever-present chameleon. These clever edits are aided by sound designer Cristian Crepaldi (accompanied by eerie backing music from Enrico Mereu), making sure we heard the impact of the deviated state as we quickly bounded on. I also especially appreciated the colour grading and palettes from Ganduglia and Charlee Avis, which really emphasised the spy thriller aesthetic.
Stylish and slick, Stay Behind oozes inspiration narratively from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and is reminiscent of Tenet’s action flow whilst putting a new spin on the genre. The trailer can be found here.