BIMIFF #4 - ENG

B I M I F F I N T E R V I E W 35
We know that our country has been suffering major cuts and
several problems regarding artistic and cultural
productions. How do the processes of film production work
on Italian soil?
In Italy, the situation is not simple either. There are
funding edicts, the competition is very big, and the
journey is long. Without a well-known production
company, it is almost impossible to get government
subsidies. There is state, regional and local funding. But
until now I have made my short films independently,
with the collaboration of the Chateau De Lumière
partners and by putting money from our savings.
Annavespa was already a step forward because Romeo
managed to get two private companies to invest in the
project and two others to provide services.
The director Clelia Di Briggido
ANNAVESPA has great technical and narrative quality, with very
well-structured photography, editing, and art direction. How was
the production process of the short film?
"Annavespa" film scene
It was not easy because our budget was low. First, we looked
for a production company interested in doing coproduction.
Chateau De Lumière would provide a small
part of the necessary money, and the production company
would provide the technical material and post-production.
We soon found a production company that liked the story
and accepted the agreement. The production director and
the photographer are excellent professionals, but the
situation was not clear. We stayed for three months
believing that they would produce even with a reduced
budget. In the end, when they put their cards on the table
they said we would have to find more than 15 thousand
Euros to make the short film because they as co-producers
would come in with the RED camera, some equipment and
some lights owned by the company and would only give a
discount on the payment of the photographer and
technicians in general. "But where do we find 15,000 Euros?
Do we have to rob a bank?" we asked the production
director. As I said before, the financing process is slow and,
as in Brazil, you need a person in charge of this part to enter
the public funding, a long process with an uncertain
outcome. We wanted to make Annavespa still in 2022. It was
a great disappointment, but it gave us a new beginning.
With Road Shine Production the situation was clear from
the beginning. Romeo Donati got some companies to come
in with a small amount of money. A kind of bakery/grocery
provided the food part of the set (in Italy there is no such
thing as a kilo, but bakeries that serve meals).