Paolo Roversi’s 2020 Pirelli Calendar “Looking for Juliet” was presented to the public recently at Verona’s Teatro Filarmonico.

Drawing inspiration from Shakespeare’s timeless drama, Paolo Roversi has tapped into the “Juliet that exists in every woman” with Claire Foy, Mia Goth, Chris Lee, Indya Moore, Rosalía, Stella Roversi, Yara Shahidi, Kristen Stewart and Emma Watson  as the protagonists of this 47th edition of The Cal™.

This year represents the first time the calendar merges photography with cinema as it is accompanied by a short film. In the 18-minute film, Paolo Roversi plays himself as a film director interviewing candidates for the role of Juliet, who pass one-by-one before the director’s lens to portray the multifaceted character with a broad gamut of emotions and expressions.

The scenario unfolds in two phases. In the first, the protagonists are shown arriving at the set, without makeup or costume. They sit and talk with Roversi about the project under way, each one vying to be chosen, telling the director about their personal experiences and how they envisage Juliet. In this way, the actresses reveal their intimate, personal side. In the second phase they put on the costumes devised to transform them for their personal interpretation of Shakespeare’s heroine. The idea is to portray a story in which reality and fiction dovetail and their distinctions blur, as in a hazy photograph.

The photo-shoot took place in May, and the 2020 Pirelli Calendar is the first to be created by an Italian photographer, who chose Verona for the setting, the city that is indelibly tied to the young woman’s fate; but also Paris, where Roversi has lived for the past forty years.