On October 17 and 18, the Eno Arts Mill will host a special screening and artist talk with multitalented artist, director, exhibitor, and academic Francesca Talenti. Her new film, In the Clouds, is the culmination of ten years of time-lapse photography of clouds, all compiled on multiple external hard drives in her studio. Earlier this year, she was inspired to organize this footage aesthetically and create an experimental film. In the Clouds is a series of abstract short films, with narratives and animation woven throughout.
“I am an artist first. If I can do that full time, I am going to do that.” — Talenti
Talenti has always held a passion for the moving image. This passion motivated her to complete her Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at the University of Southern California. Though the school was heavily geared toward Hollywood film production, Talenti preferred experimental and independent film. Her inspirations include Federico Fellini, the prolific Italian director and screenwriter known for blending fantasy and earthiness, as well as David Lynch, the American film director and artist credited with bringing surrealism and experimentalism to the Hollywood mainstream. Talenti completed several short and educational films before entering the job market in academia.
As an artist, Talenti’s crafts are diverse. She has made toys, paintings, animations, and installations. She is also skilled in production design, having worked with various theaters, including PlayMakers Repertory Company. Her talents have garnered 18 awards, critical acclaim in The New York Times, and presentations at Sundance and PBS International. She has also received invitations to teach around the world. She led a three-day workshop for women in Qatar and toured and presented in Morocco for the U.S. State Department.
Another area of creativity for the multifaceted artist is writing and directing. Her plays are surreal, experimental, and dreamlike. In 2013, she premiered The Uncanny Valley, inspired by the legend of Faust and starring Alphonse Nicholson, of P-Valley fame, and a robot dummy. Over the course of the play, the robot begins taking on the actor’s features, voice, and gestures, achieving a strange and moving likeness to humanity. The production was performed at UNC and made it to Off-Broadway in New York. She followed that up with Wants Upon A Time in 2017, a children centered one-act play in and around Patrick Dougherty’s unforgettable biodegradable two-story castle sculpture, “A Sight to Behold,” across from Weaver Street Market in Hillsborough. Both works garnered positive reviews in Indy Week.
Talenti moved to Hillsborough after accepting a position as a professor of media production at UNC Chapel Hill. As a professor, she invited her classes to explore their creative agency, including narrative and animated film. These broad assignments were disorienting for them at times, as they were more accustomed to standardized tests, but she was fortunate to have engaged, small classes where students rose to the challenge.
Now retired for ten years, Talenti’s creativity remains inspirational. In the Clouds will debut at 7 p.m. in the Eno Arts Mill Gallery. While Francesca has participated in multiple festivals, she couldn’t be more thrilled to share this work with the local community.
