IONCINEMA.com is proud to feature the rookie and veteran filmmakers showcased and nurtured at the 2008 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. This is part of collection of emailer interviews conducted prior to the festival – we would like to thank the filmmakers for their time and the hardworking publicists for making this possible.]
Anna Negri
Can you discuss the genesis of this project� How did the initial idea come about? Are there elements that are autobiographical? What was Giovanna Mori’s role in the writing process and finally, how did this become a story you wanted to tell?
Riprendimi is about a separation and it has some autobiographical elements but as I was writing I realized that they were pretty universal. Now the most eccentric or absurd moments of the films are the ones I adapted from my personal life while the most “normal” were invented but belong to everybody’s well shared experience of and breakup. Giovanna Mori, my co-writer, is a comic actress and she helped me a lot in finding that balance between comedy and tragedy which I believe is essential in telling sad stories with a light touch. In the beginning it was just a story about a break up, then Giovanna and I decided to give the feeling that it was an epidemic. Suddenly the protagonist, after having been left, sees other people everywhere she turns who are going or have gone through the same experience. As I was writing I realized that I wanted to tell this story to show how many point of views, both moral and literal there are within a separation: there is not one truth, everyone has his/her own perspective, and the viewer has to make his own mind up.
Finally, we added the filmmakers making a documentary element which served two purposes: it created a comical distance to the protagonists� very emotional turmoil of the story, and it gave it a sort of sociological framework, even if mockingly, at times.
Can you elaborate on what kind of work went into the pre-production process: how long you’ve been working on this project prior to pre-production and what specifically you did to prepare, and were there specific people involved in this process that are worth signaling out?
It took about three years to make this film. First I pitched it to Italian State TV Film Division(RAI Cinema) and they decided to develop a treatment, but when I wrote it they didn’t want to go on anymore, it was too unconventional. Fortunately I met Francesca Neri, who is a very well known actress turned producer. She had just made a film Melissa P., which was a box office hit in Italy. She really liked the treatment and embraced the idea of doing a small budget feature totally self founded. We both wanted to do a film in a very free and independent way. We shot in twenty days and we got picked up by Medusa, the biggest distribution company in Italy, and we were able to finish the project and deliver the final print.
What aesthetic decisions did you make prior to shooting?
I wanted to make a film where the camera would dance with the actors, or in other words where you would feel that the camera work is emotionally engaged with the protagonists. This was made easier by the fact that there is a film in the film, so we see how the documentarist’s regard changes as he gets involved with the subjects of his documentary. Also, I shot scenes in long takes because I wanted the actors to reach that emotional intensity that you normally see only in real documentaries.
If you could name just one – what stands out as your most favorite experience you had during filming? Because of budget restrictions, the main location was my flat. We were a small crew and there was a great atmosphere, it was like a four week long party. It was like being a theatre company: all very familiar and we had a lot of fun despite the fact that we were working impossible hours. All the people who worked on the film, both technicians and actors, normally do television productions and were really starved for quality work.
Anatomy of a scene: What was the most difficult sequence during production?
For the most part, we shot really complex long takes without problems. In one scene, Lucia, the protagonist is throwing plates at the camera, because she is angry. This moment came at the end of a three minute take, so a big piece of plexi-glass had to be slid between the camera and the actress mid-scene, so as not to hurt the operator. We did it a few times and it was like a dance, there were twenty-five people holding their breath, and each time it went really well.
What was the most challenging aspect of the production?
The most challenging aspect of the production was working with one and a half year old twins who would alternate as Paolino (the child). They didn’t want to be on set, instead they wanted to be with their mum, and who�d blame them!? We had a very tight schedule which would completely unravel as soon as there were scenes involving the kids. Then they both got the measles so we had to cut a few scenes involving the child, and finally when one of them returned for two days to finish the film we worked with such concentration and with a silence as I have NEVER seen on any set. We were so terrified he might start to cry.
On a bigger scale, the most challenging aspect was making a good film on a very little budget. To do so, you must be very creative. Fortunately I had a very good line producer, Roberto Manni, who made me wonder where all the money goes on bigger productions�
When will Italian audiences get to see this film?
The film will come out in the beginning of April and it will be distributed nation-wide.
At what part in the timeline did you consider submitting the film to Sundance?
Always. I always wanted to go to Sundance, long before making this film. I’m very pleased to be there because the film was made in a truly independent way, which is very unusual in Italy. So I feel very rewarded having been recognized by a wider filmmaking community.
Riprendimi (Good Morning
Heartache) is part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking distribution.