The Lighting of Shadow Images: Interview with Guiseppe Tornatore: Introduction

We are honoured to offer the following interview between acclaimed filmmaker, Guiseppe Tornatore and Jungian analyst Chiara Tozzi. As Tozzi introduces Tornatore to the process of Jungian Active Imagination, we observe the correspondence between Jung's method of engaging unconscious contents and Tornatore's unique approach to creating stories, screenplays, and films. Through his generous, insightful musings, we are invited not only into Tornatore's physical office but gain access to his highly developed imaginative world with its respect for and receptivity to the unconscious.

Guiseppe Tornatore is an Italian screenwriter and director whose career spans over 30 years. He is best known for the Academy Award-winning film, Cinema Paradiso . Other films and documentaries include, The Professor , A Pure Formality , The Legend of 1900 , Malena , The Best Offer , and Ennio—The Maestro . Tornatore has been credited with revitalizing Italian cinema and is also known for his long-standing collaboration with award-winning composer, Ennio Morricone.

The interview from her documentary, The Lighting of Shadow Images—Interview with Guiseppe Tornatore, was conducted by Jungian analyst, screenwriter and professor of screenwriting, Chiara Tozzi. The Lighting of Shadow Images was screened in 2023 in Belgrade at “The Film and Analytical Psychology Conference” sponsored by The Serbian Analytical Society (SAS) and the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) and in Rome during the conference, “Jung in Italy—Psyche, Art, Cinema, Literature”, organized by The Italian Association for Analytical Psychology (AIPA) and the Italian Centre for Analytical Psychology (CIPA).

Michelle Cooper, Constance Romero, Laura Tuley

Co-Editors, Film & Culture