The Sundance Film Festival has commenced its annual circuit, with many films and short films making their way to audiences for the first time. One short film in particular, simply called Luigi, gave audiences an overview of an event that broke headlines very recently.
Only eight minutes in length, Luigi was directed and produced by Liza Mandelup, with co-producer Lauren Cioffi. Mandelup is already well established when it comes to nonfiction filmmaking, with other documentary features to her name, such as 2019’s Jawline and 2023’s Caterpillar.
As the title would suggest, Luigi comes in the wake of the death of Brian Thompson, the CEO of insurance company UnitedHealthcare, with Luigi Mangione being the accused killer. However, as The Hollywood Reporter noted, the short takes a different approach than what one would expect. Rather than focusing on Mangione himself, Luigi takes a look at the response many had in the wake of Thompson’s death and the arrest of Mangione.
The Hollywood Reporter was also able to get a comment directly from Mandelup, explaining her own personal infatuation with how a community could respond to an event like this. She explained,
I felt an energy around people who were supporting him and I wanted to hear what they had to say. This is not an indictment of the community who has placed their hopes in Luigi, but meant to explore the vigor and obsession behind the online wave that exalted him, even though he has yet to say a word.
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