Screenwriter Dino Di Durante started studying Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy in 1982, without knowing he would later undertake the task of adapting it for the screen. Reading The Divine Comedy was a long-standing tradition in his family, and from an early age Dino had always wanted to continue the tradition. However, Dino, of Italian heritage, wanted to study this masterwork in its original language, Italian. In 1982, after completing his studies in Italian at UCLA, (University of California, Los Angeles, USA), Dino took several Italian literature courses, including a very intense study of The Divine Comedy, which was taught in two concurrent quarters. In addition, he took other literature classes, in which he studied Dante’s Vita Nuova (New Life) and La Monarchia (The Monarchy), as well as works of other minor poets such as Boccaccio and Petrarca, to mention a few. As a result, Italian became Dino’ minor in College, due to his burning inner desire to study The Divine Comedy and other great literature works in their original Italian.

Meanwhile, Dino also completed his Major in Applied Mathematics (Scientific Programming) and graduated in 1987 from UCSD (University of California, San Diego). As part of his general education he was required to take an English writing class, in which off course, he chose to write an essay about The Divine Comedy. This text turned out to be his roadmap for writing the movie scripts he is developing now: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Studying The Divine Comedy in Italian was not just a dream come true for him, but also the best experience he had as a student, not to mention one of the best in his entire life. The professor who taught the courses was incredibly passionate about teaching The Divine Comedy; so much so, according to Dino, that “at times he seemed to be possessed by Dante's spirit.”

Dino’ motivations for making this movie are twofold: first, to share Dante's teachings about life as a whole with as many people as possible in order to improve their lives and the world itself; second, and more significantly, to deliver Dante's message as accurately as possible. Thus, Dino has insisted on preserving the dialogues in the poem in their purest form, as Dante intended, thus giving each individual viewer the opportunity to interpret this magnificent piece of art in his or her own manner.

Lucia Checchi

Di Durante's Comments

I do not only love The Divine Comedy, but more importantly, Dante has been my guide in life, and that is what I want people to experience and adopt. After the movie project is done, I plan to create a Dante's Fund with at least 5% of my net revenues, in order to propagate The Divine Comedy message to younger generations and to conserve Dante's legacy around the world.

Be the best you can be and the rewards will be plenty, here and beyond!

Dino Di Durante

Credits

Dante Alighieri – The greatest poet and messenger who wrote the original poem The Divine Comedy.

Dino Di Durante - Adaptation from book to scripts for the movie trilogy The Divine Comedy – Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.