Interview by Francesca Conti
Giorgia Fiori is a 31-year-old actress of Marche origins. She began to undertake the studied acting during university, and then moved permanently to Rome for delve into various expressive techniques with various professionals in the sector including directors and actors and casting director. Giorgia's experiences on set from 2014 to today have been many feature films, short films, commercials, video clips, etc. Important opportunities for an undoubted
talent. Giorgia achieved success with great tenacity by fighting the challenge of cardiomyopathy that forced her to live with an implanted defibrillator, which intervened subsequently to stop his arrhythmias. Pto help all those like her who have to face risks and related problems every day to the disease, she agreed to become the face of AICARM and is committed to raising awareness the public to support the activity of all those who have set themselves the mission of helping patients and their families.
Giorgia Fiori, actress and face of AICARM
photo: Paola Labianca
brand: SUM
How did you find out you had cardiomyopathy and what impact has it had on your life?
It was the year of my high school diploma, I fainted while riding my scooter: the evaluation at the time was a bit generic. But only a year later I had my first cardiac arrest, without any symptoms or warnings, I was at my father's house in a familiar environment. I had just climbed 80 steps to get to the apartment, like I did every day. A doctor present immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and then the 118 health workers stopped the ventricular fibrillation with an external defibrillator. I went into a coma and after waking up they implanted the transvenous defibrillator (ICD). For a girl of that age, awareness is not easy, because you feel wrong and with limits that at nineteen you would never imagine you had.
What did studying acting give you?
Precisely in those years I had started studying acting in conjunction with university. It was acting that saved my life, in every sense, because, in such an emotionally complex moment, I was already immersed in the in-depth study of psychology to learn how to manage emotions and transform trauma. The transformation of trauma allowed me to take a negative fact and turn it into something extremely constructive and positive, above all to interpret and have the ability to enter and exit different roles in a healthy way, without psychological repercussions.
All this made me strong and able to manage my clinical situation in an artistic way, I made this disability an opportunity for what my path would be from then on.
From that moment on I had three more arrests within six months of each other, it was complex to sustain, especially because I felt like I was taking steps forward and then going back. During the hospitalization for the last arrest I had to prepare my degree thesis, which I wrote inside the hospital and it was a beautiful thesis. I exploited this period of cardiac instability to its fullest potential. Today I consider myself lucky to have experienced this intense moment of life, because it has led me to be a conscious person, extremely attentive but with a great desire to live and make precious use of the time I have available.
Has this very peculiar path of yours played a role in your professional choices? In choosing the characters and works in which you took part?
The themes of sociality and disability have followed me over time. I also had the opportunity for catharsis with the film “The butterflies are still flying", where I co-star. In that film I had to be on the other side, that is, in the role of a girl who has to deal every day with the support of her disabled sister. I found myself on the side of the carer and not the curate, this gave me strength and made me experience the responsibilities, frustrations and difficulties that a person who cares for a family member with these characteristics has. In September I will shoot a film inspired by a true story in which I am the female protagonist and I play the wife of a man who will become paraplegic due to an infection. Again a role where I will have to deal with care, support and closeness to a person with a disability. So it's a theme that comes back and leads me to take these works very much to heart. I think that we actors have the great responsibility and opportunity to be able to share and identify with roles and situations that can be of inspiration and help to many other people
How did you meet AICARM and why did you decide to become its spokesperson?
Some time ago I was looked after and helped by the people who founded AICARM and when I was able to help through cinema and art I wanted to support the daily work of the association. I spoke with Prof. Cecchi who was looking for a face that represented AICARM, I wanted to make myself useful in some way, I wanted to reciprocate what they had done for me in the past. It was almost fate that wanted it to go like this: the proposal was theirs but I couldn't wait to make myself available because I believe that what they do is really useful and necessary for cardiomyopathic patients and for those who care for them. I believe that it is very important to train even very young children in prevention and first aid for people who have been arrested. I am also very close to the work of “Cuori in Ascolto” (activity of the Association) which offers the possibility of making psychological consultation available to make patients feel less ill and less different giving them the opportunity to exchange experiences and be useful to each other.
What message would you like to send to young people who find themselves facing a path like yours?
I think that when someone discovers that they have heart disease or any type of illness they have the opportunity to see their own uniqueness and everyone, based on what happens to them in life, also has the moral obligation to transform it into something positive that make it stronger. It's nice that every boy feels special and it's nice that, at any stage of life, everyone can find in these misadventures a strength that helps them reach their dreams as soon as possible. I am convinced that in every disability an opportunity can be seized.