Werther Germondari

Werther identifies as a non-binary person. However, for this biography he has chosen to use male pronouns: In Rome 1988, Werther completed his Cinematic Art studies at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia under the guidance of Giuseppe Rotunno. Following that, he graduated from the Institute of Theatrical Directing at the University of Bologna. Already during his studies, he was interested in innovative, experimental, neo-conceptual and situational dynamics that are distinguished by a strongly ironic and surreal style. For many years, he has experimented using various expressive media in this artistic field (from painting to installations, from photography to film, from video to performance). His projects have been part of numerous international individual and joint exhibitions. As an independent filmmaker, he often enjoyed working with his partner Maria Laura Spagnoli, from whose intense pansexual adventures he often drew inspiration for his short films. His films were shown at several festivals (including Cannes 1994 and Venice 1996), in European cinemas and international television channels. Since then, many elements of Werthers work have changed. His wish for stories that allow sex to be an encouragement to political reflection has led him to new projects. Beginning with the script and shooting of the episode "Smack" in 2016, Werther has tried to raise the artistic bar he previously set for his sexuality research in "Tractatus logico-phileroticus". His most recent short films could be seen as "post-porn" films due to their inclusion of sexually "explicit" scenes. But to Werther, these fulfil an exclusively narrative function. In Werther's films, explicit scenes exist to convey how a story can be told more (or less) effectively and what changes if some stories are viewed with (or without) explicit scenes. There is also the attempt to create an explicit scene that is such an essential part of the plot to the point that excluding it would diminish the precise vision of a piece. All this is done in an attempt to undermine the public's superficial view of erotic and pornographic scenes and to show that what appears scandalous is actually trivial compared to the hypocrisy which dominates human social relationships.