Andrea Pallaoro on Directing ‘Transparent’ Star Trace Lysette in ‘Monica’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian director Andrea Pallaoro is back on the Lido with English-language drama “Monica,” starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson.
His sophomore feature, “Hannah,” premiered at Venice with star Charlotte Rampling winning the festival’s Coppa Volpi for the best actress in 2017.
Pallaoro, who lives in L.A., spoke to Variety about making a film that is not about “transitioning per se,” he says, but about the title character’s rapport with the world long after the transition has occurred. What drew you to the subject matter? The initial fire behind “Monica” has been a need to come to terms or to understand or to attempt to understand better or to resolve the complexities of abandonment. How did you cast Trace Lysette for the title role?I auditioned over 30 people for this role, and not just in the U.S., so I cast a very, very broad net.
And it was a process that took more than a year. When I met Trace, it was actually after that first meeting, I felt like she was the one that had the emotional depth to express what I needed.
Read more on variety.com