A Conversation with Alessandro Vantini

by: Daisy Gallagher

There are films that are released, and there are films that arrive after years of pursuit, obsession, and unanswered questions.  Thought Is Blood Around the Heart – Hamlet or on the soul’s immortality is the latter.  (Il pensiero è sangue attorno al cuore – Amleto o dell’immortalità dell’anima).

After nearly two decades of development, internationally award-winning filmmaker and actor Alessandro Vantini has released the official trailer for what is already being positioned as one of the most artistically ambitious independent films of this decade.

When speaking about the impulse behind the work, Vantini does not begin with structure, or even story—but with something far more instinctive:

You take action simply because you feel the need to take action. It comes from deep within. You don't know where from. It is necessary to go all the way. Truth… soul… freedom… immortality… philosophy… being. Words. Just words. Elaborations of thought. Reality is different. It's in the moment. There is only the need to choose, to follow the call. And take action!!! …it's here, it's now, it allows no doubts, no hesitation. Just begin the journey. You don't know where it leads. Or if it's a journey. It doesn't matter. To take the risk. And that's it. There is no choice.

From the outset, it becomes clear—this is not simply a film announcement. It is the unveiling of a work that challenges the boundaries between cinema, theater, philosophy, inner reflection—even madness, as Hamlet himself embodies. It raises a question few works are willing to confront: What happens when an actor no longer plays Hamlet, but enters into a confrontation with him? Vantini explains it not as performance, but as something far more personal:

“I didn’t just want to play Hamlet. I wanted to confront him, and myself, with Shakespeare’s deepest intentions that I felt within the text—and in doing so, I tried to live inside the conflict Hamlet represents for every human being.”

The newly released trailer does not follow the rules audiences have come to expect. It does not explain. It does not summarize. It does not guide the viewer through a familiar narrative arc.

Instead, it draws the viewer inward. As Vantini explains, 

This place is no place. Pure Utopia. It's stolen. It's clandestine. It's nothing.  It's just an intimate, secret moment. This time is not time… it's just now!

The imagery is restrained, yet charged. The pacing is deliberate. The tension is internal rather than external. What unfolds is not a preview, but an atmosphere—one that suggests a deeper psychological and philosophical terrain beneath the surface.  This is not a film you watch.
It is a film you enter.  What makes this work singular is not only its ambition, but the path taken to create it. 

The project began in 2005 as a theatrical exploration of Hamlet, evolving over four years of performance into an extended monologue, then into a 600-page philosophical text, and ultimately into a cinematic work shaped over nearly twenty years of sustained inquiry.

When reflecting on that process, Vantini does not describe it as a search, but as something that found him:

I needed to find the path… I didn't find it. But the path found me.  The action I now find myself experiencing surprises me, constantly… I hope it will surprise you too…

At the center of this process is Vantini himself—writer, director, producer, and the sole performer in the film.  He inhabits every role drawn from Shakespeare and those emerging from his own conceptual framework, creating a continuous transformation of identity that moves among character, consciousness, not being, nothingness, and self.  When asked about this multiplicity, his response reveals less about decision, and more about necessity:

It was the bewilderment in front of such an immense material that suggested me to interpret in the film other characters too: to look for an explanation also from different points of view. Where does the desire to become someone else on the scene come from? A decision? …or vanity? … no… a bewilderment in the face of something that is perceived as inconceivable.

The result is a fluid and shifting presence that reflects the complexity of human experience.

In the trailer, this transformation is only briefly revealed—yet it is enough to suggest a work that moves beyond performance into something more immersive and introspective. Vantini adds,

The philosopher Giordano Bruno, exiled from many countries in Europe, claims: Exile is a very great homeland.

An experience that actors often encounter when inhabiting a role is a form of exile—from their own identity.  According to Vantini

Playing different characters is no longer a technique, but a way of confronting deeper questions—questions that arise from identity itself, and from the loss of it.

Rather than presenting Hamlet as a fixed literary figure, the film approaches him as a philosophical presence—one that opens into a broader dialogue across centuries of thought.

The work draws from pre-Socratic philosophy through Plato and Aristotle, then through Nicolaus Cusanus and Giordano Bruno, extending into modern thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein—not as references, but as living ideas embodied through performance.

And yet, what gives the work its force is not its intellectual framework alone, but its emotional core—full participation in every direction of inquiry.

At its center are questions that remain unresolved, and perhaps unresolvable:

The tension between action and inaction.  The struggle between awareness and illusion.
The search for a true being within contradictions of identity—identity that suddenly becomes nothingness. And the role of suffering as a path toward understanding. These are not presented as abstract concepts, but as lived experiences—felt, resisted, and confronted.  Vantini continues, 

“…suffering is teaching…” Aeschylus writes in Agamemnon.  While blessing me, a great man said, with sincere compassion: “…suffering is tangible proof of God's existence.”  These, perhaps, are Hamlet’s real questions—and Shakespeare’s.  Could Hamlet’s suffering be a paradigm of human suffering?
Can Hamlet become a gateway to a more serious understanding of the human condition?
Or a transition toward good? Toward an understanding of humanity’s true purpose?

…to be or not to be… human beings? "

A knowledge that moves beyond rational boundaries—one that exposes conflict not only from archetypes, but from the vulnerability of the individual in action.  In Thought Is Blood Around the Heart, this knowledge reveals its power twice: within the film itself, and within the act of thinking about the film. 

The film itself is conceived as a work of more than ten hours, structured as a unified experience, with additional formats under consideration.  Its scope places it outside conventional commercial models, positioning it instead within international film festivals, museum programming, and academic and cultural institutions. Vantini discloses, "In time, this unified experience may evolve into a trilogy."  

For those familiar with Vantini’s work, this trajectory is not unexpected. His previous film, Nothing Beyond Measure (Antigone), received more than 161 international awards, establishing him as a distinctive voice in global independent cinema.

More recently, he was recognized with Best Actor honors at the 2025 Muses Film Awards.

With Thought Is Blood Around the Heart, that vision expands—into something more demanding, more immersive, and more enduring.

The work leaves a distinct and lasting impression,  “Thought is Blood Around the Heart is not only visually compelling, but it conveys a depth and presence that is very rare. It immediately communicates that this is not a conventional film, but something far more intentional and enduring. What stands out most is the discipline and control in the work.

There is a quiet intensity that draws the viewer in; it leaves an impression that stays with you.”

The title itself, drawn from the ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles, reflects the film’s central premise: that thought and being are inseparable—and that consciousness is both the source of conflict and the path toward understanding.  Toward the conclusion, the film returns to reflection. As Vantini describes, 

"The bewildered man we see on the screen reflects on himself and says: Plato argues that…“knowable things derive from good not only their knowability, but also their being and substance, even if good, by will and power, is above substance.”  does this mean that all human beings know only because of the good? It’s sure. Hidden behind the desire to know, there is the desire for good that calls us. The desire to know becomes the act of allowing good to influence human beings—and the world. Desdemona, at the end of the fourth act of Othello, says: “Good night, good night: God me such usage send, not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend.” 

The search for good becomes the silent structure—the unseen force—that sustains the entire work. The release of the trailer marks the beginning of a broader international rollout, with premiere details and festival participation expected to be announced in the coming months.

Watch the Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVdy4J2xWXQ

About Alessandro Vantini

Alessandro Vantini is an internationally recognized, award-winning filmmaker, director, and actor whose work bridges classical theater and contemporary cinema. Known for his philosophical depth and performance-driven approach, his work explores identity, consciousness, and the human condition through an interdisciplinary lens. His previous film, Nothing Beyond Measure (Antigone), received more than 161 international awards, establishing him as a distinctive voice in global independent cinema. His work has been presented and recognized across major international festivals and cultural platforms.

Vantini’s creative process is defined by long-form artistic development, often spanning years of research, performance, and writing, resulting in works that challenge conventional narrative structures. His films are positioned within international festivals, museum programming, and academic and cultural institutions.

About the Author

Daisy Gallagher  is a best-selling author, award-winning communications strategist, and global media advisor. Among her many recognitions, she is the recent recipient of the Muses Film Leadership Award in Greece and appointed as  Muses Global Ambassador, recognized for her contributions to the arts, media, and international cultural dialogue.  Gallagher has written and edited several books, including titles that have appeared on best-seller lists, and her work has been featured in national and international publications. 

She is globally recognized for her expertise - based on more than twenty-five years of experience - in public affairs, strategic communications, and international diplomacy. Her career includes advising organizations and leadership across the public and private sectors, with her work earning more than 100 industry awards and recognitions. She is also a frequent keynote speaker and a contributor across mainstream media and digital platforms.