Art&Cinema
La mattina scrivo
17.03.2026
Dedicated to Artists
In the morning I write, directed by Valérie Donzelli, is a film dedicated to artists—writers, painters, musicians alike.
At its center is a man who earns his living as a photographer, yet whose deepest sense of fulfillment lies in another form of art: not photography, but writing.
After publishing a few books, he begins to see himself as a writer and decides to remain one, no matter the cost. And the cost is high. His is a radical choice: mornings are devoted to his art, afternoons to exhausting, poorly paid work of any kind.
Around him are a wife and two grown children, born when he was very young, who sometimes criticize him but, above all, support him. A father and a sister provide him with minimal shelter, while remaining judgmental and irritated. Together with his editor, they constantly challenge him, gradually undermining his confidence.
It is a film where walls crumble—the opening scene, a sheetrock wall hacked apart until it collapses, becomes a perfect metaphor for the entire story—where the balconies of Paris are planted by bleeding hands, and the inner gardens of luxury homes are trimmed with shears. Ugly paintings hang on the walls; Paris itself appears almost unrecognizable.
What makes the film so compelling is that it speaks to artists about artists: the radical ones, poor and bound to survival and integrity toward their work, and the fortunate ones, supported by generous families and comfortably settled into their privilege.
