THE TIME OF THE CASONCELLO – trailer

Gabriella Buccioli, my life, my garden "In 1980, when I decided to move back to the Casoncello — a small family farm that had been abandoned for over thirty years — I was faced with impenetrable nature. Brambles, false acacias, clematis and other plants had grown so freely they had removed all traces of the old crops. Now, forty years later, the Casoncello gardens accommodate the most varied vegetation; plants that are usually considered weeds have found the same dignity as more valued species, while those purchased from nurseries keep company with those brought by the wind. The plants have invaded the spaces, stormed the trees, shrunk the walkways, and blanketed the slopes. The garden looks like a wild, magical and evocative jungle, just as I wanted it to. I created it a little bit at a time, almost without realizing it at first and then with increasing awareness. As the work gradually took shape, I indulged my love for the plant world, following the thread of childhood memories and often becoming nature’s accomplice or pupil, without sacrificing my own influence"

– Gabriella Buccioli

“Twenty years ago, I encountered Gabriella Buccioli and her Casoncello gardens in the Apennines of the Bologna area. I was immediately impassioned by her thinking and her way of designing the garden and cultivating this huge green artwork. Over the years, I’ve carried out various photo shoots of the garden and, in 2013, I began filming it and followed its development. I was not only interested in filming the garden at different times of day but also in the different periods of the year. I waited for snow, fog, sunshine, and wind so that I could witness the changing of the seasons and build a narrative of life in the garden over the course of a year. I would follow Gabriella while she worked and I asked her to tell me about it. I was struck by her dedication to tradition but also by her freedom of thought. While time passed, I filmed her weeding, sowing, and taking care of the vegetable garden. Winter, spring, summer, roses and poppies, fruit and jams, and then autumn as the vegetation slowly fell asleep. Gabriella talks about individual plants and how her work has come into being over time: the garden is her way of life and artistic expression”

– Emilio Tremolada, Director