BIMIFF #4 - ENG

B I M I F F I N T E R V I E W 37
6. The idea of relating Anna and the Vespa in their abandonment and
subsequent rebuilding is brilliant! How did the idea of making the
relationship between the two something almost symbiotic arise?
"Annavespa" film scene
It came from the father's relationship with Vespa. Because it was an
invaluable object for the father, almost like a loved one, he was a
"vespista" (Vespa fanatic), president of the Vespa club, devoted a lot of
time to this hobby so much that the daughter complained about it
which is summed up well when the daughter explodes because the
father forgot that they had agreed to have dinner together: ".... We are
never together! You live between the Vespa club and Vespa meetings;
you don't give a damn about me or Mom because your world is this
damn piece of iron!" I established the Wasp to be like a continuation
of the father's body. In the movie we see the father in a few moments,
always outdoors, always riding the Vespa. Only in the dream does he
appear walking and the Vespa is parked. From this idea, I thought that
the transformation of the girl would be together with Vespa. As if the
father would revive inside her through the Vespa. Romeo passed me
all the steps of the restoration and I worked out the alternate
assembly. If Vespa would undergo a radical transformation for the
better, then Anna would also have to transform herself, she would
need to strip herself of her guilt, eliminate her pain, and transform
herself into an adult and independent woman. To then understand
the freedom that her father felt driving a Vespa. A poetic idea that I
tried to transpose into images.
Ludovica Mancini does an excellent job giving life to the title character, but she is not alone and has great supporting actors. How
was the casting process for this great cast?
Let's start with Massimiliano Pazzaglia, a professional Italian actor of great experience, highly regarded by critics and
audiences. I didn't know him personally. It was an actress friend of mine who read the script and saw that Massimiliano
was perfect to embody Augusto Marchetti. I sent him the script and when he called me a few days later it was a great
emotion. To hear an actor of Massimiliano's caliber praise the script and say that he wanted to play the character is an
indescribable feeling; it is a kind of prize.
I found Ludovica through an ad I placed in a Facebook group called MUJERES DEL CINEMA. Despite its name in Spanish,
this group is made up of professional women in Italian cinema. There we find job offers, and requests for collaboration,
both free and reciprocal, we ask questions, and we ask for advice. It is a very interesting and important group. I placed an
ad and it rained resumes and reels of young actresses. As our production was low budget, I did the casting myself. I made
the first selection and chose eight young women between 23 and 26 years old. It was not enough that she was a great
actress, the physical type was important, because I needed her to be convincing as my and Massimiliano Pazzaglia's
daughter. Ludovica soon caught my attention. We did an online test on Zoom and she won extra points. From this
meeting, 4 actresses remained with whom I scheduled a presence test. And there Ludovica won by far. I showed the tests
to the team and they voted unanimously for her. I was very happy with my choice, she is not only physically perfect, and
she is also an excellent actress. And it was very enriching to act with her.
Romeo Donati plays the mechanic because besides his passion for acting he did the restoration of the Vespa, so Armando
is himself. Carlo, Anna's ex-boyfriend, is a talented young actor that Ludovica introduced me to. Although it was a small
role he agreed to do it, and of course, he did very well. The mother character, I created for myself when I conceived the
story.