Filippo Quezel

Filippo Quezel studied at the Stella Adler Studio in New York. In theatre, he has worked with Babilonia Teatri, Lucia Calamaro, Andrea De Rosa, Ferdinando Bruni, Francesco Frongia, Giuseppe Emiliani, Massimo Somaglino, and Nicoletta Robello. For cinema and television, he has collaborated with Luca Guadagnino, Simone Rovellini, and Roberto Saviano. He wrote and directed the short film Tinder (audience award and special jury mention at Lago Film Fest 2022). He directed the documentary Non lo so (selected at the 27th edition of Visioni Italiane and screened at the Cineteca di Bologna). He wrote and directed the mise en espace T’ank you veddy much, produced by TSV. He also wrote and directed Tirannosauro, produced by Sardegna Teatro and TSV. He collaborated with the international dance festival Prospettiva Danza Teatro. He works with MOTUS on the production of the documentary film ODIO, supported by the Italian Council.

The creative work is grounded in the hypnotic fascination evoked by watching two bodies face each other in an arm-wrestling match, and in the dynamics that unfold around that encounter; particularly when some non–cis-hetero male bodies come into play. “Braccio di ferro” is a struggle of the body for itself – a reclaiming of it through play, by challenging the social expectations projected onto bodies in relation to a sport that, in our society, symbolizes virility and physical dominance.

Where do these encounters take place? In what underground gambling den? In what fantastic criminal hideout? The outcome of the clash can only be broken bones and blood, because there is nothing sporting left in the social-climbing nightmare we are living through.

Concept by Caterina Benevoli and Filippo Quezel
in collaboration with dancer and performer Alice Raffaelli

in collaboration with sfx artist Sveva Ungari

COLLABS
Suites by Camilla Crivellari (@TremaMani)

Photos by @Denise Tosato

Alice Raffaelli

Born in Rovereto (TN) in 1991. In 2010 she moved to Milan to attend the dance training course at the Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi, where, in addition to internal teachers, she studied with choreographers such as Cesc Gelabert, Catherine Diverres, and Enzo Cosimi. Over the years, she also trained with Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni, Anton Lachky, Renate Graziadei, Thomas Hauert, Eduardo Torroja, among others. She regularly works as a performer for Cosimi, and between 2014 and 2025 she has collaborated with dance authors of very diverse approaches and styles: Cristina Rizzo, Luca Veggetti, Francesco Marilungo, Irene Russolillo, Serena Malacco (Cie Jukebox), Camilla Monga, Ariella Vidach, Elisa Sbaragli. Since 2015 she has ventured into spoken theatre through her collaboration with the company The Baby Walk on the Trilogia sull’identità, and in other contexts she has also gained experience in theatre and film projects. One example: the feature film La variabile umana, directed by Bruno Oliviero and presented at the Locarno Film Festival 2013. In 2024 she debuted in La morte a Venezia by Liv Ferracchiati, where she performed and curated the choreographic material. She is part of several Milan-based collectives united by an interest in transdisciplinarity in performance, such as Kokoschka Revival, Fragile. Artists, and muovimi; and is a regular participant in the Sharing Training Milano project. In 2018 she was among the finalists of the Ubu Award, category Best Performer Under 35. In 2024 she was among the winners of the Danza&Danza Award

as Best Performer.