“It’s not a movie about death; it’s about life”: Valerio Mastandrea on Feeling Better at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Feeling Better, the second feature from Italian actor-director Valerio Mastandrea, finds melancholic absurdity and unexpected warmth in a hospital that is less medical ward than limbo. Mastandrea stars as a man content to linger in this suspended state, unbothered by the living world beyond. But when a restless newcomer (Dolores Fonzi) lands in the same ward, the rules of this peculiar space begin to unravel. Together, they navigate shifting boundaries where humour and grief collide in an introspective tale that reveals how, even in the most unexpected circumstances, human connections can spark profound change.

Ahead of the film’s premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Mastandrea spoke with The Upcoming about the inspirations behind his work, his fascination with the borderland between life and death, the sense of community that emerges there, his choice to keep the two romantic leads nameless, and how bonds can form in the most unexpected and unlikely moments.

Christina Yang

Feeling Better does not have a release date yet.