A 2012 film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, shot in a docu-drama style that blends reality with theatrical performance. Inside the theater of Rome’s Rebibbia prison, the final scene of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is performed by a group of inmates from the High Security section. As the curtain falls, the actor-prisoners return to their cells, reflecting on a journey that began six months earlier when the prison warden announced a new theatre project led by stage director Fabio Cavalli. From the first auditions to the final performance, Julius Caesar gradually takes shape, becoming a deeply personal experience for each participant. Through Shakespeare’s words, the inmates confront the timeless themes of power, betrayal, loyalty, and fate—realizing that these forces, which drive the play’s characters, are the same that have shaped their own lives. The line between character and self, between art and life, becomes increasingly blurred.
TAVIANI BROTHERS RETROSPECTIVE | SCREENING OF “CESAR MUST DIE”
