Daniele Silvestri and the song that lived (for now) twice

Today Daniel Silvestri turns 56, to celebrate we offer you part of our interview from last November (read it here in full) related to the song “With closed mouth” which, published in 2013, returned to the public’s attention last year because it was taken up by Paola Cortellesi for his film “There is still tomorrow”.

“It doesn’t often happen to someone who does my job that one of their songs is treated with so much care and intensity,” says Daniele Silvestri on the other end of the phone.. The song the Roman singer-songwriter is referring to is, of course, “A bocca chiusa”. Silvestri performed it in competition at the 2013 Sanremo Festival, and then included it in the same year in the EP “Che nemmeno Mennea”: it wasn’t a hit, but it became a small must-have in the concerts of the voice of “Salirò”, who has never stopped playing it live since then. Ten years later, the song is now experiencing a second life. The credit goes to Paola Cortellesi and her “C’è ancora domani”, the box-office hit that marked the directorial debut of the Roman actress. “A bocca chiusa” accompanies one of the key scenes of the film, set in Rome in 1946, a city divided by the poverty left by the Second World War, the Allied militias still roaming the streets and the desire for change fueled by the institutional referendum and the election of the Constituent Assembly.

What did Paola Cortellesi tell you about the use of “A bocca chiusa”?

“Little or nothing. I only knew that it was in the main scene of the film. She was good at keeping everything a secret even from the actors themselves: I know that in the copies of the script that were given to them, the ending was missing. When I went to see ‘C’è ancora domani’, I was enchanted by the result. It gave my song a new meaning”.

Meaning what?

“’A bocca chiusa’ already spoke of collective struggles. But she linked it specifically to the female condition, managing to make it perfectly consistent with the story she tells in the film. And the thing that honors me is that she wanted it at all costs. The producer told me that without my song, the film would not have been made. Paola had very clear ideas about the role that the song would have had in ‘C’è ancora domani’”.

How long have you known Paola Cortellesi?

“Since ’96, I think. At the time I was working for a play by Tullio Solenghi, ‘FrankensteINmusical’: I had composed the music. She showed up at the auditions for the part of the protagonist, among other actresses. We auditioned a few, then in the end we chose Paola. Only that in the meantime she had agreed to work on another project. That’s how we met”.

The direction of the video clip of “A bocca chiusa”, ten years ago, was signed by Valerio Mastandrea, co-star of “C’è ancora domani”. A closing of the circle?

“Yes. It’s a bizarre coincidence. As often happens, things end up attracting each other. After all, we’re always the same group of peers and friends.”