The first time at the Venice Film Festival

Venice during the film festival is incredibly quiet. It's a city where you can lose yourself in its slow meanderings, surprising you with its canals at every turn. We met Clotilde Esposito and time seemed to slow down. As the Lido rushes from one photo call to the next, she relishes the moment, the place, the space – the privilege of being in one of the most magical cities in the world at one of the most coveted film festivals. We found her on a happy island, Isola delle Rose, far from the chaos of the Lido, just hours before the red carpet for Bradley Cooper's "Maestro", where she was a guest of Moët: a dark queen with magnetic charm. «I'm extremely excited. At the same time, I can't wait to be there and enjoy this moment to the fullest. I've been following the Venice Film Festival and the Biennale for years. So to be here is really a dream.»

She opens the door to her room at the JW Marriott, wrapped in a bathrobe and with a smile that lights up the room. As she sits down on the couch, surrounded by old cinema stars, she feels completely at ease. With her Germanic name made up of "hluda" meaning "famous" and "hildjo" meaning "struggle"," Clotilde is a harbinger of success. But the red carpet in Venice can make anyone nervous. «I had a clear vision. I love black, so I knew I'd wear black for my first appearance. I'm a winter low, so I'm perfect in my colour palette, and I also wanted something that accentuated my curves. I've to say that my stylist and I did a perfect job by fully adhering to my ideas,» she continues, «I've always been fascinated by the world of fashion, especially in the last few years. I find it to be a powerful form of expression and I enjoy following it and experimenting.» But it's not all about fashion. For the Venice Film Festival, Clotilde opted for a new, intense make-up, but in everyday life she prefers to keep things simple. «I like to go out without make-up, just with a lip balm and some eyebrow gel. Make-up relaxes me a lot and it makes me feel better. I find that small but important steps beautify the face, so I like to keep it simple, focus on the lips and maybe add some eyeliner. I think I started doing this in middle school and watched a billion tutorials on YouTube. In short, I taught myself by watching YouTube, and that world has fascinated me since I was a kid.»

Growing up under the warm sun of Naples, her passion for acting has made her one of the most appreciated and representative actresses of "Mare Fuori"," the famous series by Rai TV. «I see very little of myself in my character Silvia. Sometimes I found it difficult to understand or accept some of her choices or character traits because we're completely different. I'm much more reserved, more concerned with myself and less open-minded. But basically she's a good and sincere person who wouldn't hurt anyone. She's a very positive character and I think we could definitely be friends in a parallel world,» she continues, «Mare Fuori is a series with often harsh, strong language, but I find it very effective. It tells of love, but also of pain, of how easily we make mistakes and cannot turn back, and how we bear the consequences. It speaks of reality in all its forms and conveys extremely important messages to young people.»

She graduated from law school in May 2022, having juggled between sets and books. But how do you do it all at the same time? «Probably the fact that I started working in middle school helped me balance work, study and everything else. So I grew up with that. I always pursued my life needs in parallel. But it wasn't easy.» Clotilde Esposito wasn't always the confident and talented actress we know today. As a child she was extremely shy, but her mother recognised the hidden potential in her and enrolled her in an acting course. This was the first step towards a career that would change her life. Clotilde's growing passion led her to her first auditions in 2012 when she debuted in the soap opera "Un Posto al Sole" She later appeared in productions such as "Pupetta - Il Coraggio e la Passione" (2013), "Sotto Copertura" (2014) and "Furore" «I love my fans; I never take their affection for granted. I like to talk to them, on social media or even better, in person, when the opportunity arises. It makes me aware of what's on the other side, what they're getting from me. It's always a very interesting exchange. They often ask me about my path, where I started. It's very important to me to emphasise how important education is, especially for the younger ones, starting with school, and then any form of art. Nowadays people think they can do without it, but that's not true.»