I produced and performed "Burning Tape" in the summer of 2016. David Bowie had passed away on January 10 of the same year. His death struck me deeply since his music, his way to be, broke into my life and became important as it is.

I thought about the right way to honor the emotions I feel, to honor the importance he and his art had on my artistic growth.

When the journalist Rita Rocca, launched the idea of ​​her Bowienext with the intention of making a documentary-movie about David Bowie with the open contributions from the world’s fan base, I designed my short movie. I imagined my short movie to be as a love letter to thank him for what he represented for me in my entire life.

I found the right director in the person of Valerio Burli to whom I told my idea and then, with his help, we put together the script. I told him about my life, my ambitions, my vision and what became part of me. I did not talk about my performances or anything related to my artistic activity, if not in terms of doubts, fatigue, struggles.

The making of the short movie was challenging: it was about to find the perfect locations, the set-up, the furnishings, the equipment for the shooting, the lights, the make-up, the costumes, the search for the actress who personated me as a young girl. After hours and hours of filming, patience, haste, unexpected events, changes, we finished it with the editing. 

For the soundtrack, we chose to use original music, made by me and by Andrea Pistilli, we composed some years ago, when we were playing together. We worked for four months on our short film, from June to October 2016, and then Valerio and I deliver the final version of BURNING TAPE to Rita Rocca. I remember that I was a little upset, but my doubts melted when I saw the expression on her face as the movie ran. Her sincere and emotional embrace was in the end the ok I was hoping for and that repaid me for the time, effort, and expenses incurred.

I kept my commitment not to publish my short film before the release of Rita's film. Finally, on June 13 2018, after almost two years from the delivery of my work, RAI5 and “RAI Cultura” TV aired in prime time the film Bowienext, in which it is included part of my BURNING TAPE (production and assembly requirements imposed cuts on all the works presented by the artists chosen for the final version).

However, we are there! I am in the film broadcast by RAI TV and I am more than happy about it, above all for the context in which Rita's film has finally seen the light (out of pure passion like me, she brought to a successful end a heavy commitment with stubborn conviction).

For those who wish to see it, I published on You Tube the whole BURNING TAPE, which obviously expresses all its meaning in the full version. I can only add one thing: all you see in my story is true. To Nicole, the actress who played me as a young girl, I said during the shoot only one thing: “remember that Ambra was not a sad girl, but pissed off, tough, attentive to change, already with clear ideas about how to feel the future coming...”

 

I step back before closing. What I write now can be embarrassing, and, I realize, hard to believe. The night that David left us, I was asleep (there are 6 hours of time with NY), and I dreamed of what became the most emotional part of my "BURNING TAPE". When I learned the terrible news of his death the next morning, I realized that my experience had been real. "Superposition of the astral" is the term used to describe it in esoteric texts. I have no explanations and I do not know how to decipher what happened. My life has changed a lot since 10 January 2016, and it is still changing.

Enjoy the movie.