THE GENIUS OF A PLACE tells the story of Cortona, a tiny Italian town catapulted to notoriety by being the backdrop for book then movie, 'Under the Tuscan Sun. The resulting fame accelerated the sleepy town's pace of change, upsetting its age-old equilibrium on many different fronts. During the four years of filming this documentary, the crew captured Cortona's citizenry as it began to ponder the hidden costs that had come bundled together with the town's economic boom. While residents welcome this new-found prosperity in many ways, they also see that its flip side is jeopardizing what has long made Cortona unique, beautiful, livable and sustainable. Cortona ultimately is a microcosm, allowing us to see similar, complex challenges faced by communities around the globe.—Anonymous
Imagine a quiet little town suddenly becoming a world-famous tourist destination. That's precisely what happened to Cortona, the Italian hill town launched to fame by the book by Frances Mayes and film by Audrey Wells, Under the Tuscan Sun.
THE GENIUS OF A PLACE shows how crowds of tourists are changing Cortona's social, economic, environmental and emotional fabric. While locals understandably seek to capitalize on the unexpected boom in visitors, they also realize they might collectively be harming the place they love.
This poignant and deceptively powerful documentary is told through the eyes of director Sarah Marder, an American who has witnessed radical change in Cortona in the 30 years she has been observing it.With the help of three Italian filmmakers, Mattia Amadori, Andrea Corti and Max de Ponti, who own a video production company, Sarah experiences her first step into filmmaking, learning how difficult is to deal with these subtle problems that are threatening her beloved little Tuscan town.From real estate growing prices, to water shortening, from garbage control to new professions growing in the town, Sarah and the crew talk with many people, from residents to tourists, trying to get a sense of what's happening.Ultimately, the story of Cortona is the story of places in every corner of the planet, each struggling in its own way to find a balance between growth and conservation.
The film helps viewers grasp how intimately our well-being is linked to that of our environs and thus inspires them to become custodians of their own little part of the world.
