''The Listening'' ( it, In ascolto) is a 2006 Italian

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by Giacomo Martelli in his debut. The film is based on the mass surveillance operations conducted by the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...

(NSA) with the aid of private corporations, and explores the dire consequences that can arise due to excessive corporate influence on a government agency set up for mass surveillance.

Plot

In the late 1990s, the National Security Agency (NSA) and a computer software firm, Wendell Crenshaw work together to implement a surveillance technology, the Echelon, which enables NSA to monitor almost anybody in the world. When classified information about the Echelon system accidentally finds its way into a young woman's hands, a terrible clash occurs in the opinions of a top-executive at Wendell Crenshaw and an NSA operative, the former determined to find out what the lady knows even if it means using violence and the latter, equally determined to save an innocent woman's life.

ECHELON

Making a film specifically on ECHELON offered the possibility of exploring the issues of interception, violation of privacy, and the interference of corporate interests in matters of national as well as international security simultaneously.

Cast and Crew

Michael Parks Michael Parks (born Harry Samuel Parks; April 24, 1940 – May 9, 2017) was an American singer and actor. He appeared in many films and made frequent television appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series '' Then Came Bronson'', but ...

: James Wagley *

Maya Sansa Maya Sansa (born 25 September 1975) is an Italian actress. Early life and career Maya Sansa was born in Rome the daughter of an Iranian father and an Italian mother. When she was 14, she started to study acting at her high school in Rome the " ...

: Francesca Savelli *

Andrea Tidona Andrea Tidona (born 30 November 1951) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Modica, Sicily, Tidona formed at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici and later worked several years at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, under Giorgio ...

: Gianni Longardo * James Parks : Anthony Ashe * Matt Patresi : Guglia Graef * Bruce McGuire : Phil Kovacs *

Vincent Riotta Vincenzo Ricotta (born 14 October 1959), professionally known as Vincent Riotta, is a British actor. Career Riotta studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He went on to perform in various stage plays, such as Shakespeare's ''Romeo'', wh ...

: Frank Vaughan *

Terence Beesley Terence Beesley (7 September 1957 – 30 November 2017) was an English actor. Early life Born in London to Irish parents, he studied at the City Lit in London in 1980, and then trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Ar ...

: John Strobel *

Carla Cassola Carla Cassola (15 December 1947 – 24 July 2022)Marc Fiorini : Lehmann * Adam O'Neill : Louis Perry

Awards

;

Taormina International Film Festival Taormina Film Fest (TFF) is a film festival that began in 1955 under the name Rassegna Cinematografica Internazionale di Messina e Taormina. The exhibition, which moved permanently to Taormina in 1971, has hosted over the years many stars of inter ...

2006 * Best Story - Giacomo Martelli ;'
Viareggio EuropaCinema
'' * Best Actress - Maya Sansa

References

External links