Isabella Rossellini is coming to the San Francisco Int'l Film Festival

Isabella Rossellini's new love affair 

By Moira Sullivan

Isabella Rossellini has had a long-term love affair with insects and animals.  She is the daughter of the Swedish screen actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. Isabella went back to school after a successful career as a model for Lancôme and a motion pictures actress. One of her major roles was in David Lynch’s "Blue Velvet" made in 1986. 

Isabella studied animal behavior ecology and conservation after these careers in order to be well acquainted with her subjects.  First she made 40 short films , which she called "Green Porno", then she did theater presentations written with Jean-Claude Carrière. After that she wrote a book about the sex life of animals and finally a film made by Judy Shapiro chronicles this work.

This documentary will be presented at the San Francisco Int'l Film Festival ("Green Porno" Live!) that runs from April 23–May 7. The film will be screened April 26 and April 27 in the presence of Isabella and the filmmaker.

Isabella is Italian but her voice clearly evokes her famous mother. She is an excellent actress and speaker and her projects are engaging, powerful and truly exciting. Shapiro’s film chronicles Rossellini’s  experiences with various creative teams who help her to produce her show, consultants who introduce her to animals, clips for her very successful short films and theatrical presentations of her work. She plays the animals, she plays Darwin, and she plays aspiring mates for elk. She plays a hermaphrodite, a transsexual  and a parthonogenic virgin reproducing female.   How can animals , be all heterosexual, she wonders as her adventures into animal behavior celebrate their diversity.

Above all Isabella Rossellini is an extraordinary teacher who is able to captivate her audiences, especially with her witty intelligent way of expression and brilliant stage performances.

Next week more from the San Francisco International Film Festival.

© 2015 - Moira Sullivan - Air Date: 04/15/15
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