That time they crucified me | Treviso today | News

The meeting with Gat will take place at Tarzo’s bar. It’s about 11 am now and Ennio Casagrande (former Mayor Tarzo for two and a half terms) drinks soda. In the lands of Prosecco, this detail could cause a scandal, and therefore the beads – judging by the usual photo – are suddenly hidden.

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Luckily he thinks about it Joseph Casagrande normalize the scene by ordering white. Indeed, a shadow. Fortunately, the Fortnightly is read primarily in the Alta Marcha, otherwise it would look like an incipit that needs to be deciphered. Starting right with Gat, which has nothing feline in it. Gat is an acronym for Tarzo’s group of actors (and extras). At the moment it’s more than a group, it’s a trio. It was written by Ennio Casagrande, Giuseppe Casagrande and Charles Gaius (the oldest: “He is 89 and possibly al se ha desmentegà de végner”). The Gat, which despite its lack of staff already has its logo and a nice blue t-shirt, was founded in January 2023 with one goal: to stay, or rather continue to stay, on film sets as long as they have a historical or cultural character. “We have ruled out the sinepanettoni,” Ennio notes, “because we prioritize the quality of the offerings, even at the expense of easy popularity.”

Why Gat? Basically – they seem to understand – because they like it. Ennio, Giuseppe and Carlo have been extras or actors – full of witticisms – for more than twenty years in various films set in the Veneto region, meeting famous directors – Renzo Martinelli, Richard Attenborough, Gianni Amelio – famous stars (Sandra Bullock, Laura Morante, Philippe Leroy), as well as secrets and curiosities behind the scenes. The film (beautiful, you can’t say otherwise), in which Giuseppe Casagrande, who is now 75 years old, played an important role, was Renzo Martinelli’s Vaiont. “It all started by accident,” he explains. We were outside Bar Domo in Vittorio when the casting was going on. We did not apply for the role, but the director noticed us through the glass. So, around midnight, they call me: Martinelli (by the way, the goddess of my class) wants to see me. It was August 6, 2000, and I, who worked at the factory, was on the move. I filled out the necessary paperwork – INPS also participated there – and until November 11, when the shooting ended, I was filming in Longarone, Vittorio and Cinecitta. In the film, where I also had jokes, I was the dam technician, the one who gets hit first by the wave, as well as Olmo’s partner, the protagonist and Christ on the cross during Erto’s procession. I raised my voice when the director told me that I was going to be crucified. They put a crown with real spikes on my head, tied my hands and feet: at some point I was wearing a helmet on the cross, as a result of which I had a dislocation. Moreover, I took several painful vices, because Romolino da Longere, who, posing as a Roman centurion to be believed, beat me with all the force that he had …

“No fae piì quea parte,” I muttered, losing my patience, “but then they made me change my mind, and I played all the parts.” Giuseppe Casagrande tells curiosities and anecdotes in dialect, after making sure that I understand this “language”. And Ennio, 71, is no different. During Vayont’s time he was still working and could not be absent for months to participate in all the shootings, but he compensated for this with two important films. “Carlo Gaio and I,” he says, “were on the set of Richard Attenborough’s film Love Forever, filmed in Serravalle. Since we were Bersaglieri, after the first double we had at least ten runs. And recently, with friends Giuseppe and Carlo, we were on the set of a film about Tina Anselmi. Then we went through the casting and, despite the hesitation of the director, who was looking only for extras and actors aged 18 to 50, we had a role. I especially liked it, both because I knew and respected Tina Anselmi when I was a councilor in the mountain community, and because another character featured in it was Francesco Fabbri, with whom I interacted. It was also a good experience, even if one day – but here it is better to keep silent – I had to give up my place to a member of the council of the municipality of Castelfranco, who wanted to star in a film … “. “For me, this film was also an important test,” explains Giuseppe. He put me in pajamas because he was supposed to treat tuberculosis. It was hard for me to give up cigarettes for the whole day, because I could not get up from my chair … “

What will be the next GAT commitments? In September, we may shoot a film with Gianni Amelio, but it’s too early to say what role we will have. In the meantime, let’s keep this passion for cinema alive. Seeing it from the inside, from behind the scenes, is an invaluable experience that gave us the opportunity to meet famous directors and actors such as Sandra Bullock, Laura Morante, Anita Caprioli… and many more. Ennio Casagrande was mayor of Tarzo for two and a half terms (when he was still very young, among other things, since at 28 he already wore a tricolor ribbon). How close is the activity of an actor or extras to administrative politics?

“More than you think. I have said several times that politicians are all actors because they say one thing and do another.”

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