This documentary is a journey into the heart of Piedmont and the Italian tradition of Horror, Weird, and speculative fiction. Through the voices of writers who draw inspiration from ancient legends and haunted landscapes, it explores how folklore and place continue to shape contemporary storytelling. Author Flavio Troisi leads the way, from his desk to the woods that surround him. Danilo Arona and Luigi Musolino evoke valleys, ruins, and fog where the land itself becomes a living character. From the Langhe to the Orba Valley, from Lerma to Mount Musinè, the film follows authors such as Christian Sartirana, Andrea Cavaletto, Francesca Tassini, Lucio Besana, Paolo Di Orazio, and Francesco Corigliano as they navigate myths both personal and collective. Witches, Ungumani, spirits, and local rituals re-emerge not as relics, but as reflections of a deeper cultural unease. The journey ends around a fire—where the line between legend and reality quietly blurs.
The idea of producing a documentary that explores the connection between writing and territory - starting from Piedmont but branching into other inner geographies - was born after I watched a short film by David Fragale and Emiliano Guarneri, a piece I instantly fell in love with. At its center was an interview with Luigi Musolino, a writer deeply rooted in the Piedmontese landscape and a leading voice in Italian horror and weird fiction. Lands of Nocturnal Memory stems from that spark, and naturally found a home in Haselwurm Produzioni, a company that has always embraced symbolic, eerie, and liminal narratives. The project also continues a long-standing artistic collaboration with David, who has worked on several of my films as both writer and art director. The documentary aims to resonate with a wide audience by showcasing landscapes and stories, while also reaching a niche of genre lovers drawn to the fantastic and the unsettling.
