Mikhail Baryshnikov to Star in Post-Wilson Don Quixote Art Film in Sicily

Legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov will shoot an art film inspired by Don Quixote in Sicily, a final legacy of his close collaboration with the late director Bob Wilson. The project was unveiled on Monday, May 4, at the Cortile Platamone in Catania's Palazzo della Cultura during Catania Contemporanea / FIC Festival. The festival, founded in 2018 and curated by Scenario Pubblico, has entered a new phase under artistic director Roberto Zappalà, with a committee of Catania cultural institutions. Baryshnikov was welcomed by Teatro Stabile di Catania director Marco Giorgetti and Mayor Enrico Trantino, alongside Charles Chemin, artistic director of The Watermill Center founded by Wilson in 1992. Chemin revealed that the project began in May 2025 at Watermill as a third collaboration with Baryshnikov, but Wilson learned he had limited time; he died at his Watermill home on July 31, 2025, at age 83. The film is conceived as a homage, not a direct adaptation. Baryshnikov, who directed and choreographed Don Quixote for American Ballet Theatre in 1978, will play the title role, with flamenco artist Israel Galván contributing choreography. The creative team is scouting locations across Sicily for resonances with Cervantes' text.