US Premiere!
In Salento, a humble region in the far south of the Italian peninsula, the native tarantula population is both feared and revered. Over the years, a thriving folk culture has grown up around the poisonous arachnids, culminating in the annual “La Notte della Taranta” festival, a musical celebration of life in Salento. It is said that the surest cure for the tarantula’s sting is the pizzica, a frenetic folk dance set to joyful, violin- and organ-based music. Once ostracized as a backwards, hickish entertainment, pizzica music has recently undergone a revival in Italy, filtering into pop songs and movies and sparking worldwide interest in this ancient and deceptively simple musical form. The Long Hiss of the Tarantula celebrates pizzica and the people who have kept it alive through the generations. Employing exuberant footage of the elderly musicians, poets and storytellers who pass down tales of the tarantula, director Paolo Pisanelli crafts a lively portrait of Salento, its festival and most of all its people.

Paolo Pisanelli studied architecture before becoming an acclaimed cinematographer and documentarian with a dozen films to his credit. His previous films include Don Vitaliano: Nothing But a Priest and Il Magnifico Sette.

Producers: Big Sur, Provincia Di Lecce, Istituto Diego Carpitella, Unione dei Comuni della Grecia salentina Screenwriter: Paolo Pisanelli Cinematographer: Paolo Pisanelli Editors: Manuel Cassano, Paolo Tura Sound: Emanuele Costantini, Manuel Cassano Cast: Cici Cafaro, Niceta Petrachi, Cosimino Surdo, Cosimo Chiria