GREEN PORNO

with Isabella Rossellini

production Les visiteurs du soir

"I have always loved animals. I am particularly fascinated by the diversity in nature. My family knows it well. Since I was a little girl I brought home all kinds of stray cats and dogs, but also worms, frogs, insects and read a great deal of books about animals and took many biology courses at the University.

Since my work has been first as a fashion model, then as an actress this interest of mine remained not known to the public. But when my carrier evolved further to include writing and directing films, biology became my main source of inspiration.

Encouraged by actor-filmmaker Robert Redford who is tremendously supportive of experimental, independent films and also very interested in Nature, I made short  comical films about animals : Green Porno is  about  animal reproduction, Seduce Me about  different courtship strategies and Mammas about differed ways among animals of being mothers.

"This is what we artists do- comment Redford about my films - We tell serious things in the most accessible, entertain way".

The great Jean Claude Carrière, who is writing the theatrical  comical  version about my interest in nature, said about the wonderment  of nature, "How can we ever be bored? Indeed, biology is the greatest show on Earth".

Who invented sex? Why and how?

Isabella Rossellini and Jean-Claude Carrière try to answer those questions observing the natural world from pachyderms to bugs.

How surprising! How bizarre! Males eaten right after reproduction, one’s sperm blown away by another male’s within the female vagina itself, wild orgies, fierce fights, dances, seductions, extravagances, unexplainable acrobatics, deadly enigmas, perversions, pregnant males, new born being eaten alive…It’s as if nature has willingly multiplied the tracks to create confusion. It’s as if life, to allow reproduction, would play a dangerous and chaotic game, the rules of which are settled by we don’t know who and differ depending on the species. 

Legs abandoned drifting away by the river, ready for the sperm of a meeting. Salmons mating in the river where they were born just before dislocation and death. The queen of termites can engender workers as well as warriors, according to the needs of her group… Snails, being hermaphrodites, tease themselves with a stinger before the act. The female of an aquatic worm isolates herself in a 10 holes shell, only one hole being the right one. The male has to spread his sperm into each hole and eventually dies exhausted, his task fulfilled. 

Life being passed down whatever the cost, offers an intriguing and scaring show leading to the unavoidable question: what about us? Where are we standing?

The text, written by myself, will be read and performed by Isabella Rossellini.

The conference about the mating in the natural world will be interrupted on several occasions by 2 minutes long short movies directed by Isabella Rossellini in which she plays a fly, a duck, a calmar or a bug. She will comment upon them live.

Pre-selected animals (for the existing shorts): the snail, the worm, the fly, the shrimp, the deadly spider, the praying-mantis, the anchovy, the bi-phallic snake.

Isabella Rossellini had a long career as a model, lasting 25 years, 14 of which working as face of the Lancôme cosmetic company.

As an actress, she is best known for films such as Blue Velvet and Sailor and Lula directed by David Lynch. She also worked with directors such as Robert Zemeckis in Death Becomes her, Peter Weir in Fearless, John Schlesinger in The Innocent, Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott’s Big Night.

Isabella was recently seen in the romantic comedy Late Bloomers by Julie Gavras also starringWilliam Hurt, Keyhole by Guy Maddin, Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi, The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Saverio Costanzo, and Du Vent dans mes Mollets by Corine Tardieu.

With her movie My Dad is 100 years old, tribute to her father, Isabella made her debut wiriting the screenplay, co-directed with Guy Maddin .

In 2008 engouraged by actor/director Robert Redford, Isabella starts writing and directing a series of short films for his TV Channel Sundance. GREEN PORNO a comical and theatrical approach to teach the mating habits in the natural world, has a huge success that lead to other series always on the subject of animals: Seduce Me, Mammas and a TV one hour special for Discovery Channel Animals Distract Me.

She is the daughter of the Academy Award-winning Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca,Anastasia,Autumn Sonata) and the groundbreaking, iconic Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, who made film history with Rome, Open City. 
Isabella was born in Rome et spent her childhood bewteen Rome and Paris. She came to New York at the age of 19 to study English and attend College and settled in the city . She holds dual United States and Italian citizenship.

Jean-Claude Carrière has been exploring all fields of the contemporary expression for over 50 years.

He made his debuts in the movies by the side of Jacques Tati and Pierre Etaix, writing screenplays for Luis Buñuel (Belle de Jour, Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie), Milos Forman (Taking off, Valmont), Volker Schlondorff (Le Tambour), Jacques Deray (La Piscine, Borsalino), Louis Malle (Viva Maria, Milou en mai), Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Cyrano de Bergerac), Michaël Haneke (Le Ruban blanc).

He writes his own plays for the theatre (L’aide-mémoire), and also worked with Peter Brook for 34 years, writing in particular La Conférence des oiseaux and Le Mahabharata.

He wrote a dozen movies for the TV among which 3 were awarded by a 7 d’or (La Controverse de Valladolid, in particular.)

He also wrote opera booklets, and some for musicals (Quel que soit le songe, by Hanna Schygullah) and several songs some sung by Juliette Greco.

He’s also the author of many books among which Le Vin bourru, Fragilité, a Dictionnaire amoureux de l’Inde, another about Mexico. His last book is untitled Désordre. He’s working on numerous projects.