Because something sacred had been erased. A name. A presence. A truth.
I didn’t set out to tell a story — I set out to restore one. To bring Asherah back into the light. To let the feminine divine rise, not as a myth or metaphor, but as a living force.
This project began as a whisper from somewhere ancient — now it speaks with thunder.
How much of my soul is in this project?
All of it.
The child who searched for meaning. The seeker who wrestled with silence. The creator who dared to remember what the world forgot.
Every scene, every symbol, every heartbeat in Asherah’s story is a thread of my own — braided with memory, myth, and longing.
This isn’t just storytelling. This is soulwork.
Who do I wish to share this project with?
With anyone who has ever felt silenced. With the ones who carry something ancient in their chest but don’t yet have a name for it. With the orphans of story, faith, and origin. With the dreamers who believe that cinema can still awaken the sacred.
And with those who are tired of watching goddesses burn quietly in the margins.
To whom do I dedicate this project?
To the women who were written out. To the lovers who remembered them. To the daughters still waiting to be seen. And to the divine — feminine, fierce, and forgotten — who is finally coming home.
“Can’t Figure It Out” was the first of a series of short experimental films that deal with the topics of misunderstanding and misinformation and the flawed perspectives and decision-making that result from the interaction of these two elements. We live in an age of incomplete information and misinformation, which rather than feeding better understandings of everyday situations of personal, local, national and/or international interest, inevitably often lead to contagious and potentially perilous interpretations that threaten our well-being on multiple levels. I believe that we must search for ways of increasing awareness of the dangers inherent in this situation and seek out means of helping people realize the fundamental importance of informed understanding to our evaluations and subsequent acts. I hope that “Can’t Figure It Out” can make a small contribution to raising awareness of the perils of the current situation.
How much of my soul is in this project?
100%! I believe that misunderstanding due to ignorance (whether due to inadequate accurate information or intentionally created misinformation) is a major cause of conflict and polarization in contemporary society. In many cases such confrontations promote growing inequality and intolerance leading inevitably to prejudicial actions devoid of justification on any level.
Who do I wish to share this project with?
I would like to share the project with the general public as well as with filmmaking professionals. I would like to see experimental works (both long and short pieces) occupy a more prominent place in the filmmaking industry and be made more accessible to the general public.
To whom do I dedicate this project?
I dedicate this work to two groups:
those courageous professional journalists that strive to present facts and informed analyses of evolving situations and events on local, national and international levels. Quality independent journalism helps make distorted rewritings of history more difficult to promote.
all those people in every walk of daily life who take the time to strive for informed understanding of what is going on around them as well as in far-away places. This requires concentrated effort and dedication that is all too rare in contemporary societies in which the majority of persons eagerly embrace the most easily accessible sources of information without any consideration for the need to verify the source and true nature of such information. Rational, relevant action to face challenges of any sort or scale is only possible in the presence of informed understanding.
It’s very hard to talk about oneself—telling stories is easier. I was born and live in Abruzzo, which could be described as the wild side of Italy. Since I was a child, I’ve been drawn to mysteries and the magical side of things. I feel a strong connection to nature and the universe, always in search of the eternal, the infinite—things that time cannot corrupt or erode. And in cinema, I found the perfect playmate.
After earning a degree in Communication, I enrolled in an acting course, where I met several people, including the ideal lead actor for the story I wanted to tell. That’s how Midnight Green (Verde di mezzanotte, 2014) was born—a thriller set entirely in my homeland, with a budget of just 500 euros. I started with a feature film without ever having done anything before. I took on writing, directing, editing, and more. The journey of Midnight Green lasted two and a half years, from script to post-production, and it was an incredible satisfaction to see the film projected on the big screen.
Afterward, I attended two film schools—one in Abruzzo and the other in Rome, Sentieri Selvaggi—where I earned two Master’s degrees in Screenwriting and Directing. During this time, I made several short films and documentaries, leading up to AVIO – Absence of Vitality in the Intact Organism (2022), a sci-fi short set in caves, and Flashes of Light (Bagliori, 2024). In my work, I focus mainly on writing, directing, and editing. Over the past two years, both AVIO and Bagliori have received numerous selections and awards.
Currently, I have several projects in the works, including a thriller/horror feature film.
– Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
I’ve been interested in films since I was a child, captivated by their charm and immersing myself in the stories, becoming the characters who carried them forward. At age 5, in 1993, I went to see Jurassic Park in the theater, and I was blown away. It was so real and at the same time so fantastical that it transported me to another level. What struck me most was the intense fear I felt—but that fear was also enjoyable.
From then on, I watched every adventure, teen horror, and fantasy film I could find. Steven Spielberg gently took me by the hand and immersed me in the stuff of dreams. Another director who achieved that for me was Robert Zemeckis—especially with Back to the Future and Cast Away, which I was lucky enough to see in theaters at age 12. That’s when I understood the importance of time—physical, emotional, and cinematic.
That said, I’m an omnivorous viewer: I don’t care much about what a film is about, as long as it can passionately transport me into the story.
– Tell us about your project Flashes of Light (Bagliori).
Bagliori is a very special project for me. It comes from an image I had several years ago: I was in Campo Imperatore, Abruzzo, with two of my friends. We were driving along the road, and at one point, they wanted to stop and take pictures of the mountains. I felt drawn to something, so I started walking toward the mountain, off-trail. I found myself going over a series of grassy hills, one after another. Eventually, I turned back toward the road—and I could no longer see my friends. I wasn’t far, but I was completely surrounded by nature. In that moment, I imagined living there among the hills, with common objects—phone, furniture, bed—within reach. That image gave me a deep sense of peace.
Last year, I discovered a short film grant for works shot in the Gran Sasso area, so I dusted off that image and turned it into a script.
Federica, the protagonist, is a young woman with a troubled past who wants to return to her hometown. She carries a secret—and more.
Bagliori aims to dig into the viewer’s soul and take them back to the origins of their life, where it all began. The past can be painful, but also beautiful. Our greatest desires and expectations lie dormant in memories—they are the roots of our present and should be nurtured as such. Traveling through the past is difficult, but sometimes it’s necessary in order to be reborn and lay the foundations for a better future. “Bagliori” is something we carry within us from birth and throughout our entire life — something deep that, despite distance and time, returns cyclically.
– Which Director inspires you the most?
A few days before writing the screenplay for Bagliori, I went to the cinema to watch All of Us Strangers by Andrew Haigh. I was blown away by its delicacy and the connection between man and the universe. So, during the writing phase, I was deeply influenced by the sensations that film gave me, and I promised myself that if I could give the audience even a thousandth of what All of Us Strangers gave me, I would consider myself a winner.
If we’re talking about directors in general, it’s very hard to choose, because I’ve had many revelations with filmmakers who are quite different from one another. One of them, on whom I wrote my thesis, is John Carpenter. He perfectly embodies my idea of a director: a creator of original stories, visionary staging, always going against the system. Each of his films becomes a cult classic. He’s an explorer of genres, involved in everything from pre-production to post-production. Moreover, his films have a quality that I consider essential: you can rewatch them endlessly without getting tired, finding a deeper meaning each time. As soon as you finish one of his films, you want to rewind the tape and watch it again immediately. A true legend.
– What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
What I definitely dislike about this world is the lack of kindness and respect for others. I increasingly notice that everyone is focused on their own personal gain and little world rather than the common good. Being rich doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want, because we are guests on this Earth and we should ask and give thanks instead of looting and destroying. We take for granted what we have, but it’s not guaranteed. We all walk on the same ground and have the same rights.
In this climate of hate, of desperately trying to appear as something we’re not, of discrimination toward those who are different, I believe the most important thing today is education. That’s why I would change its place in society, putting it at the center of everything and letting everything else branch out from it. I believe teachers today bear great responsibility for the new generations and unfortunately have to carry the weight of what others have failed to do for them.
– How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
Cinema is still very young despite having made huge strides. I can’t really imagine where it could be in 100 years. And I’m not talking about technology or CGI, but about what cinema can give us in terms of storytelling. If we compare pre-cinema to today’s cinema, it feels like millennia have passed. Language evolves, society changes, new issues arise. But the one thing that unites all of cinema’s history is the creation of a seed that can make the audience feel — be it fear, laughter, or tears.
The only thing we must guard against is homogenization: films must have their own voices, their own colors, their own shapes. Only in this way can Cinema ride through the ages forever.
– What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?
To be honest, I didn’t know about you before, but I’ll definitely catch up now because you’re a fantastic magazine. Being able to unite big industry cinema with less visible cinema is an admirable and noteworthy effort. Cinema shouldn’t be limited to what reaches the mainstream audience — we need to seek out these hidden sprouts and bring them into the light. I can only thank you for wanting to interview me and for making me feel part of this great community of people who love Cinema and create it in every way possible.
Mecca is the second installment and prequel to the first of a four-film anthology called The Parables (theparables.net), which takes its viewers on a mind-binding journey through time, genre, and the human spirit. A drama set in New York City soon after 9/11, Mecca gave me the opportunity to showcase humankind’s capacity for suffering, perseverance, catharsis and ultimately serenity in the face of an incredible odds.
How much of my soul is in this project?
I lived in New York shortly after 9/11, lived in the same neighborhoods, felt the same emotions and faced many of the same challenges as the protagonist in this story, so a great deal of me is found in these pages.
Who do I wish to share this project with?
I share this story first with the irreplaceable people of New York, who I don’t believe have had a proper story given to them illustrating how they stood back up after that terrible day in September. Next, I share it with anyone who dared to start a dream, only to have it come crashing down, and refused to accept that outcome, having the courage to say to themselves: “get up.”
To whom do I dedicate this project?
Always first and foremost to my father, without whom none of these stories would be possible; to every person with the audacity to never give up; and to the beautiful men and women of New York City.
Oh wow, we’re starting off with the existential crisis. After 30 years I’d have thought that I would have a definitive answer, but the truth is that I have no clue whatsoever. In order to quote the hilarious Billy Crystal in one of my favourite comedies, Analyze This: “Who I am? Who I AM? Who am I? Who am I is a question for the ages. That’s the one we’re all searching for to find out who I am, who’s in there, who wants to come out and go: “Hey, I’m hungry!”.” Or this quote from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones: “I’m just a simple man trying to make my way through the universe.” I guess I would say that I’m a filmmaker and photographer from Malmö, Sweden, who has resided in Helsinki, Finland since the late summer of 2018 with my beautiful, amazing wife and our so-cute-that-it-hurts dog. I started making my own short films when I was about 12 or 13 years of age. I would take a big, clunky DV camera, go out to my parents’ backyard and just start shooting whatever. Whether it would be our dogs, the sun shining through the trees – anything was cinematic to me. I would then import the footage into the only editing software available to me, Windows Movie Maker, not really do any editing, put in random music and I would think to myself: “This will get me to the Oscars!”. Teenage delusions of grandeur at its finest. I would like to think that I’ve improved behind the camera since then. I never want to lose the sense of wonder, or overwhelming excitement, that I felt growing up. In summary I would say that I’m a filmmaker who approaches filmmaking with passion, curiosity and child-like wonderment.
-Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
This is difficult, because I can point to several moments where I fell in love with cinema. Already as a child I loved telling stories, re-enact scenes from movies (especially The Mask of Zorro, I love that movie so much), drawing my favourite characters (I think Batman, Superman and Zorro were the ones I drew the most). Come to think of it, I probably spent a lot more time drawing and playing make-believe in kindergarten (or is it preschool now?) and elementary school than I did trying to connect with my peers. I always felt like an outsider growing up, and cinema became my sanctuary in a way. I loved getting immersed into other worlds, spending time with characters and, ultimately, feeling a sense of belonging that was rare to find outside of the movies. The first movie-theater experience that I remember was going with my dad, big brother and a friend from kindergarten to see Toy Story 2. I was about 5 years old when that movie was released. Another memorable experience was seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That movie was the start of my Johnny Depp-mania, and if you’re, for whatever reason, reading this, I love you, Johnny! However, when my undying love for cinema truly started, when I knew that there was no turning back – it was a warm summer day in 2007, my dad and I went to the supermarket to buy breakfast, and, as per our ritual, we went to the movie-section. We were browsing and browsing, but then, as if being called by a mysterious force in the pile of movies, we found Jaws and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I had been nagging my parents about watching Jaws for some time, and now the day had finally come. Dad bought the movies for me, you know when Dr. Phil says: “This is gonna be a changing day in your life.” The day I watched Jaws and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was exactly that. I was beyond excited, and terrified, to watch Jaws for the first time. The only thing I knew about it was the main theme that my parents and relatives hummed time and time again. When I heard anyone humming it, I just kept thinking that it didn’t sound scary at all, in fact it sounded quite lame and ridiculous. However, as soon as the DVD-menu came up and I heard the main theme, as composed by the greatest composer of all time, John Williams, for the first time ever, I realized faster than a split second just how wrong I was. The DVD-menu alone scared the living shit out of me, and I basically ran out of the living room and shouted that I wasn’t gonna watch it. Lucky for me, my dad knew just what to say to get me to calm down, so I sat back down on the couch and I watched the movie. 18 years and 50+ (not joking) rewatches later, Jaws is still my favourite movie of all time, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is still my second favourite movie of all time (coincidentally, it’s my wife’s favourite movie of all time). When I saw those movies, I think it was the first time where I started paying attention to the power of editing and music. The editing in Jaws is immaculate in every single way, it’s still to this day one of the best edited movies that I’ve seen. The scene on the beach when Alex Kintner is killed by the shark is film editing at its absolute finest. Jaws’ use of editing and music, and The Good, the Bad and Ugly’s use of cinematography and music, those elements made me go: “I know that I’ll never be able to reach those levels of perfection, but, whatever and however long it takes, I sure am gonna try.”
-Tell us about your project “Then & Now”.
It was the autumn of 2020, the post-production for my second directorial effort, Hissen, had begun, and I was already contemplating my next project, or future ones. However, it was so difficult to think of anything that seemed worth the effort of putting digits on the keyboard. As I was about to give up I started thinking of what it would be like to write about a couple celebrating an anniversary, but they have stopped talking to each other, really go all in on the not talking-aspect of it, and just tell the story visually? I also thought that even if I wouldn’t do anything with it, it would still be a great exercise in sparse and economical screenwriting. It took me a couple of days to write the first draft (back then it was called Narcissus), and, after writing a couple of drafts, I basically put it away never to look at it again. Then about 3 years later in the late summer of 2023, I was contacted by Antti Saarikallio about my feature length screenplay A Scanian Revenge Tale, it had won an award from the Finnish Film Foundation, we talked about how much we liked working with each other on one of my school productions, Linda & Kasu, where he played a supporting character, and that it would be lovely to work together again on a new movie. Antti is an incredible actor in every sense of the word. When we worked on Linda & Kasu I was taken aback by not only his enormous talent, but his kindness and, I don’t know, it just felt very special to work with him. His ability to go from being this warm sweetheart to a cold and vicious monster really amazed me. I said that I would reach out immediately if I could think of anything. That’s when I remembered the screenplay for Then & Now, I told Antti about the story and my vision for it, he was very intrigued and asked to read it. A few days later Antti came back with his verdict: “What a beautiful, touching story. I’m in!” With that sentence I went from not ever going to make it to all of a sudden figuring out how I was going to make it. It’s funny how it can change so rapidly. Once Antti was onboard, playing the role of Simon, I immediately started thinking of potential actresses for the role of Johanna. I realized very quickly that there was only one actress who could portray Johanna, and that was the lovely Antonia Atarah. Just like with Antti, Antonia and I collaborated on Linda & Kasu, where she played the lead. It was our first collaboration. Whenever I reminisce about that production, I instantly think about how much I loved working with her. Antonia’s ability to portray emotional vulnerability while at the same time remaining strong and resilient was what really stood out to me, and after production had wrapped on Linda & Kasu, I told myself that I have to work with her again when the right project shows up. I sent the screenplay to Antonia, and I was so nervous that she would turn it down, since she was my first and only choice. If either she or Antti had turned it down, I wouldn’t have made it. However, it seems like all the stars aligned because Antonia liked the screenplay a lot. She had a few concerns, but after I explained my vision for the movie and we talked it out, she finally said that she was in. With both Antonia and Antti onboard, the main cast was sorted out, and I couldn’t have been luckier and happier. Even though I had already decided that Then & Now was going to be a no-budget independent short film, and that I, in addition to writing, producing, editing and directing, would also do the cinematography, using my own camera and only use natural lighting – I knew that I was going to need someone to help me to make sure that the shoot would run as smoothly as possible. I reached out to my former classmate and very close friend, Ida Henriksson, who’s a brilliant filmmaker herself. One reason as to why I wanted Ida to be involved was because I knew that she would keep me grounded, but also give me suggestions as to how to improve scenes, camera angles and editing. Like I said, Ida is a brilliant filmmaker. I considered her to be the best director in our class. Her ability to create an atmosphere that was not only immersive, but unique, was just simply amazing in every way. At first I reached out to her to see if she would be interested in playing the supporting character of Linnéa, but then I also asked her if she would also consider being the script supervisor. Ida very graciously accepted both of my requests. Let me tell you something, friends like Ida only come by once in a blue moon. When we studied together, Ida was my biggest supporter. If I was having difficulties with my productions, whether I would be overwhelmed, seriously doubting myself or whatever, she was always there for me, listening to what was bothering me and lifting my spirit. She believed in me when I was unable to, and having someone who believes in you, it does wonders. I can’t thank her enough for everything that she has done for me, but that won’t stop me from saying; Thank you, Ida. The shooting of Then & Now is probably the smoothest I’ve ever had during my time in the business so far. Because it was just me, Ida, Antonia and Antti on set, which mostly was the apartment that my wife and I live in, it allowed for us to have a very relaxed and casual shoot. Most of the film consisted of scenes taking place at night, and, even though we had many scenes to shoot, we managed to keep the days quite short. The longest day was the first one, we worked for about 6 hours, but the remaining two days we mostly wrapped after about 3 or 4 hours. Even though it was a sad movie that we were making, the atmosphere was very light. In between takes, and on some occasions during the takes, we were joking around a lot. The more relaxed you are on set, the results will improve dramatically. I started editing already after the first day of shooting, and I think a few hours after the last day, I had put together a first rough cut. Every time I had a new rough cut I would show it to Ida and my wife. Their feedback was invaluable, since they would see flaws that I was blind to. One of the problems with editing is that you do it for so many hours every day that when you first identify a problem, you think to yourself: “Well, maybe it’s not that bad, I can make it part of the narrative.” Like I said, I knew that Ida would keep me grounded, but also that my wife would, and for that I’m very grateful. Altogether the editing lasted about a month and a half, during which I edited about 7 different versions before ultimately settling on the version that was released. Another thing about editing, and everything else really, is that even though there’s always room for small improvements, you have to be able to know when it’s time to let it go in order to move forward. It’s not easy, but all the more necessary. With editing completed there were still two major things remaining: music and color grading. When it came to the music I already knew who I was going to reach out to: my brother from another mother, Mattias Ohlsson. He and I have been close friends since junior high where we made a lot of short films and medium length films together. We restarted our collaboration in 2020 when I asked him to compose the score for Hissen, and he composed a score that completely blew me out of the water. A score that not only enhanced the horror, but also the emotional core. Mattias also composed the score for my last school production, The Most Dangerous Game, an action-comedy that was the polar opposite from Hissen, and just like with that movie, Mattias managed to compose a score that worked so perfectly that if you’d remove it from either of them, they just wouldn’t be the same. When it came to the music in Then & Now I needed a score that would become another character. We both knew that the word that best described the movie was melancholia, and therefore the score needed to be just that. The basis of how Mattias and I collaborate is that I will describe the story, plot points, characters and the underlying themes, and then I will show him the final rough cut. Mattias will then spend some time in his home studio experimenting with different instruments, and send me samples along the way until we both say: That’s the one! With Then & Now Mattias felt very strongly that the music needed to be something that would work as a common thread, and play throughout the entire runtime. In many ways it felt like making a modern silent movie without title-cards. Mattias composed this absolutely beautiful, melancholic and haunting score that had so many subtle changes in the present day scenes and the flashbacks. It also had this hypnotic quality that gave the movie a heightened reality of sorts. When I first heard it I wasn’t entirely convinced, because it sounded too simple, but then when I put it into the editing timeline and watched the movie from start to finish, I realized just how perfect it was. In the end, the minimalist approach to the storytelling needed to be applied to the score. Mattias did that to perfection. The final piece of the puzzle was the color grading. At first I tried to do it myself, but back then I had absolutely no comprehension of how to do it. I tried several times, but I just couldn’t get it to where I felt somewhat okay with the result. Help was needed, so I reached out to another former classmate, my friend, Veikko Luukkonen. Veikko and I first worked together on my directorial debut, The Fleeting Moment, where he was the gaffer and colorist. Later he was the cinematographer, editor and colorist on Hissen and on The Most Dangerous Game he was the cinematographer, colorist and VFX-artist. A seriously talented and kind guy who took my movies to the next level visually with his use of contrasts, highlights and shadows. With Then & Now I wanted two distinctive color palettes. One for the present day scenes where Simon and Johanna are cold and distant towards each other, and the other for the f lashbacks where their love is at its strongest. The two movies that immediately came to mind when creating the mood board were The Piano and Drive. The first one is one of my favourite romantic dramas of all time, and the use of muted and desaturated colors was something that I thought would benefit Then & Now greatly. With Drive there was one scene in particular that came to mind – the elevator scene when The Driver kisses Irene. The warm colors along with the contrasts immediately stood out to me, and that was what I wanted for the flashback scenes. I sent the mood board to Veikko and he went to work. When he sent me the graded version, it made me teary eyed, not only because he realized my vision to a tee, but because the use of these color palettes made the movie visually layered. One thing that I was worried about was that maybe the cinematography was too simplistic, or that the exposure was all wrong, but Veikko did wonders. He made it beautiful. When all was said and done I didn’t think that Then & Now would make much of an impact. I figured that I would just upload it on Youtube, it would disappear in the vast sea of short f ilms, and that would be it. However, I still felt that I should try my luck with film festivals, because who knows, maybe there would be an audience for it somewhere? As it would turn out, there was. The movie was selected by some film festivals in Sweden and USA, and when it won Best Short Film at the Denver Monthly Film Awards, it completely took me by surprise. I thought that would be the end of that, but then more film festivals began to reach out to me personally and were interested in including the movie. With 24 selections at film festivals in Bulgaria, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, Serbia, Sweden and USA, plus awards for Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Original Score, I’m still in shock of how the movie has been embraced. It never occurred to me that a tiny, no budget, independent short film about dying love would create such a fuss. I very rarely take pride in what I do, but in the case of Then & Now, I am so proud of how it all turned out. Everyone in the cast and crew did such an amazing job, they are the reason for the movie becoming what it is. Eternally grateful.
-Which Director inspires you the most?
Oh, this is a difficult one, since I can probably name a hundred directors that inspire me in one way or another. However, if I absolutely have to boil it down to the most essential ones it would be Martin Scorsese (my favourite director of all time), Sergio Leone, Tim Burton, Bo Widerberg and Ari Aster. Scorsese inspires me with the energy of his filmmaking and use of music, Leone with his use of striking panoramic shots and extreme close-ups, Burton with the quirkiness and originality, Widerberg with his ability to convey emotional realism, and Aster for how he blends genres to a cohesive whole.
-What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
I’m not sure that I’m the right person to ask this, since I try to stay away from the news of the world, and I don’t really know how to say anything of value. But I know that I want to live in a world that’s much less judgemental and exclusionary. Much less oppression and much more love and positivity. There’s such an outpour of hate and discrimination, and that’s not what the norm should be.
-How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
My hope is that in 100 years the film industry will embrace all kinds of filmmakers from various parts of the world. Especially independent ones. Right now there’s too much focus on big blockbusters based on IP. Not that there’s anything wrong with blockbusters, I love me a blockbuster when it’s done right. The best one that I’ve seen recently is Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece Sinners. That movie blew me away, and I’m so happy that it’s doing so well, not just financially, but critically. I also loved Top Gun: Maverick, whenever Tom Cruise has something on the pipeline I’m immediately counting down the days until theatrical release. I’m also so incredibly excited that masterful independent filmmakers like Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, Brady Corbet, Osgood Perkins, Damien Leone, Thomas Vinterberg, Sean Baker, Susanne Bier, Andrea Arnold, Emerald Fennell and Ti West continue to make such an impact with deeply personal and genre-redefining movies.
-What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?
I think WILD FILMMAKER is wonderful in every single way, and I’m so excited to be included in the community. It means the world to me that I get to share my work with all of you.
Anjanabha Roy is the student of world cinema loves to do experiment with cinema and believe to portray the psychology of human civilisation rather than chronological story telling.
Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
I was just 10 years old. My father bought me a DVD of GOOPY GAYEN BAGHA BYEN directed by one of the greatest Indian Film directors Satyajit Ray. I still remember I said “I want to be a film director” after watching the film. This film opened the window of world cinema for me.
Tell us about your project “A Fable Before Apocalypse”.
AFABLE BEFORE APOCALYPSE is a psychoanalytic Science Fiction film where a lady (SREETAMA done by SWARALIPI GOSH) constantly talking with her fictional coequal (done by POULAMI SENGUPTA) contradicting herself in about becoming an artist and gaining fame. Actually, her fictional coequal is nothing but her alternative personality who counters her ego to make her realize the duty of a poet. When the entire world is under the threat of power conflict and combat it is a duty of a poet to pick his or her pen up to counter the doctrine of power otherwise be ready for the apocalypse. In this film I have created some apocalyptic war scenes with the help of AI. But I believe the main USP of this film is the acting skill of Swaralipi Ghosh won critique choice award for best acting in Twilight Tokyo Film Festival, Ankita Das won best supporting actress in Paramount Cine Carnival. Even Poulumi Sengupta, Basudha Nandy and Sayan Sarkar all were brilliant in their performance. In my 10 years of film directing career, I have never seen such brilliant performance in film acting. Proud of them.
Which Director inspires you the most?
Because I am an Indian and Bangali too, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak & Mrinal Sen are my first inspirations. Great Indian film directors Goutam Ghosh & Buddhadeb Dasgupta inspired me a lot in the case of their unique cinematic language and stylization of cinematography. But Ingmar Bergman and Jean Luc Godard always remain my inspirations because of their philosophical, political and psychological narratives. Now I am watching Pier Paolo Pasolini very carefully to understand today’s world politics.
What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
I dislike rather good to say I hate war. I often dislike media politics in case of portraying war. I dislike those nations and super powers who believe atomic achievement is the greatest achievement of mankind. No, it’s even the worst achievement. I dislike the recent ideology of Indian film making where filmmakers believe film is a money-making machine by selling entertainments and hyper nationalism and it’s a medium of producing puppets called stars and make people believe that they are the Messiah. We those who believe that film is an art we are fighting like hell, not directly with the governments or institutions but with the people of our country. Because India is suffering from severe mass autocracy and communal hatred. They are romanticizing war even though they don’t know the history of the rise of terrorism. If possible, I would like to bring back the lives of those children Killed in Gaza.
How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
I’m confused. Because I don’t know what will be the socio-political condition of world in 100 years. But I imagine, rather dream that many film directors would make anti war films and bring arguments in their film narratives against atomic empowerments. For them AI would become Alternative Intelligence, not artificial. But in my country film would become an audio-visual junk. It’s better to say it would not be a film but a costume party in front of a camera where some puppets cherishing their nescience.
What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?
I would like to convey my gratitude to WILD FILMMAKER because they are true get way to world cinema where those independent film directors who make films for the sake of film and believe film making is their socio-political duty. WILD FILMMAKER is the friend and a true guide for them in case of showcasing their film in international platforms and reputed international film festivals.
Mihaela Tudorof is a divorced, single mother with two teens that are the center of her world. She’s also a writer, director, and executive producer of her film Family Hug, in which she stars as the lead.
-Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
I’ve always loved cinema and working in the industry has always been my passion.
-Tell us about your project “Family Hug”.
Inspired by my own divorce, I decided to make this film in hopes that people getting divorced will be more aware of the pain they’re causing their own kids during the process. Family Hug is about a woman going through a contentious divorce with a narcissist who wants to destroy her at all cost, even though his own children are collateral damage. The message of the film is that no matter how much you despise the person you’re divorcing, your hatred for the other parent should not be stronger than the love for your children. Family Hug is currently doing well in the film festival circuit. We have won 15 awards so far, 2 honorable mentions, and have 5 official selections. But we’re just getting started, so many more to come!
-Which Director inspires you the most?
Martin Scorsese is my favorite Director of all time. I love all his films.
-What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
Children suffering in any way shape or form is something that hurts my heart. Parents that abuse or neglect their children make me sick. I believe in gentle parenting as opposed to harsh discipline. People often mistake hitting for discipline. To me, hitting is abuse, not discipline. I believe children do better with love and patience. I think hitting children really damages them well into their adulthood. I believe it either creates an abusive adult or you become someone who allows abuse in your relationship due to it feeling familiar, like your childhood.
-How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
I think there will be a ton of artificial intelligence and movies may lose heart. I hope I’m wrong.
-What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?
Truly amazing, and passionate about the film industry.
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Etnoragù
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An Ever After Drama
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2020: life and death of a virus
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Walking With God
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Cassandra Venice
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Virulence
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YOU ARE HERE – a dylan brody project
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Errata in blue
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Artists & Aliens
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Soularis
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Katabasis
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The Rorschach Test
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NeverWere: a Lycan Love Story
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Out Of Control
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Sheldon Mashugana gets Stooged
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Mind over Matter
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The Duchess
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Alta California
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Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir By Max Rothschild and Dr. Shulamit Reinharz
With Timeline – How Cinema Tells Time – From the Crystal Image to the Tamed Image, published by Non Solo Parole Edizioni, with which I published the critical essay The Interrupted Applause – Poetry and Periphery in the Work of Massimo Troisi in 2005, I wanted to explore and develop a theme that is very dear to me, already present as a thematic prompt in my latest cinematic and narrative works: the true nature of Time. I enjoyed revisiting and reworking studies I started at the Department of Music and Performing Arts at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Siena, where I graduated in 1999, trying to extend the analysis to contemporary cinema and to the productive and expressive crisis of a large part of Italian cinema. I have thus concluded that Cinema is the only art capable of revealing the mystery of Time, as long as it is free from the constraints of the market. Therefore, while modern cinema has focused on the more or less conscious representation of Time – after the classical cinema saw movement and the logic of actions as its expressive core – on the other hand, especially in Italy, the flattening of production practices has led to the rise of a “tamed image,” one that is dedicated to presenting a simplified and impoverished version of the world, directly influenced by the social-television dogma.
The essay then reviews the entire history of Cinema, focusing on the expressive modes of the cinema of Time, on its ability to distance itself from an image of the world that is programmatically imposed, to then identify in the “tamed image” its reactionary variant, more interested in convenient clichés, in self-replication, in the forced preservation of the known world. From the first experiments of the Lumière brothers and Méliès to the films that have irreparably marked our imagination, such as Last Year at Marienbad, Back to the Future, and Interstellar, with a glance at the TV series that have changed our way of perceiving reality, such as Heimat, Twin Peaks, and Dark.
Moving between Deleuze, Bergson, Heidegger, and Nietzsche, the essay explores the true nature of time, certainly different from the chrono-logical one we are used to believing in. It then analyzes the systemic trends of contemporary cinema and its state of expressive crisis, particularly in Italy, identifying the “tamed image” as a sign of flattening and impoverishment of storytelling. It ends by posing the most important question: what is reality, really? Because answering the question “what is Time, really?” is equivalent to asking what is the reality we call “reality.” How much of it is objective? Is it almost entirely the result of a crossroad of imposed perceptions, both from our subjectivity and from the inputs launched by mass communication?
It becomes undeniable, then, that loving Cinema means believing in its analytical and re-elaborative capacities regarding the lived reality. Thus, it is essential to fight for the freedom of Cinema from consumer practices, from the lobbies that hold a significant part of its production, and from the visions dictated by social-television conditioning. In conclusion, Cinema emerges as an art that requires constant questioning, a new restoration, an analysis that never settles for what’s been seen or said before, but that strives with all its might to penetrate the veil of finality and artificial theatricality that covers the truth of things, assuming that such a truth may exist.
This essay, then, is imbued with passion for Cinema, aimed at enthusiasts, experts, scholars, students, and anyone who wants to discover what Cinema is, and, above all, what Time is.
