The Cosmicomic Life of Q

In a dual role as actor and director, Luca Marinelli brings to life Le cosmicomiche by Italo Calvino—a collection of stories that blend science and fantasy to explore profound themes such as the vastness of the cosmos, the passage of time, and the nature of existence.

At the heart of the narrative is Qfwfq—an ageless being, both witness and storyteller of the universe’s evolution. After billions of years of existence, he now finds himself in a modern city, living like any ordinary man. He has a mundane job and, most significantly, he has forgotten (or chosen to forget?) who he is, who he was, where he has been, and what he has seen.

Through a journey into memory, Qfwfq retraces his past—a past that mirrors the history of the universe and of humanity itself: from the Big Bang to the formation of the Milky Way and the Solar System, from the birth of the Moon to the abyss of emptiness, only to return full circle to the present day. Yet upon his return, he carries a newfound—or rather, renewed—awareness: vivid, awakened, fully present in time and space.

In his portrayal of Qfwfq, Marinelli delves into the depth of Calvino’s world, drawing from its rich “cosmicomic” universe to craft a cosmogony that remains true to the spirit of the original stories. For Marinelli, Qfwfq is a complex and layered being, a guardian of the world's memory—scientific, experiential, and cultural.