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Vanessa McMahonVanessa is a novel writer, screenwriter, rep and a film producer. She shares her discoveries and film surprises. :-)
Interview with Filmmaker Tommaso Frangini for 'The Plague' (2017) and 'Ecate' (2017)
Writer/director Tommaso Frangini's latest opus 'The Plague' (2017) premiered at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in the Short Film Corner. The Frankenstein-esque tale takes place in the late 18th century and tells the story of alchemist Parsifal (played by Omar Maestroni) who creates half human half monster Homunculus (Riccardo Maria Manera). Having ignored his master's foreboding, Parsifal must learn the hard way about the dangers of mixing magic with science. Frangini also directed short films 'Patient 1642' (2017) and 'Ecate' (2017). Frangini is a young Italian director who is studying Film Directing at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. His short 'Ecate' is a fantasy set in a medieval forest, where a knight is lost and is rescued by a mysterious lady and 'The Plague' is set in the late Eighteenth Century and tells the story of an alchemist who experiments with a forbidden formula.
I interviewed Tommaso about both films. Here is what he had to say:
What does the name of your film "Ecate" mean?
Regarding your second short film “The Plague”, why do you think alchemy become so occult to Christian Europe? TOMMASO: Alchemy has very ancient origins, since ancient Greece or even before that. The practice of it gradually changed through time, becoming more and more occult and obscure. As for many other disciplines, Christian Europe was not an easy place to florish and experiment, an example would be Astronomy or Medicine, and many scholars had to hide during the Inquisition period. The world of Alchemy, however, is vast. In my short, I wanted to talk about the Homunculus, the creation of life through Alchemy, which is certainly one of it’s most disturbing aspects and practices.
Is the woman in “Ecate” a kind of a Witch?
Where do you think Italian cinema stands in the world today, as opposed to its past? TOMMASO: Italian cinema has had two generations of incredible talents that have influenced the World Cinema, from the late 40s to the late 70s many absolute masterpieces were produced in Italy. It is difficult to think that we can go back to such a flourishing period, not so much because of the lack of talents, but because of the fact that in Italy the producers no longer take risks, they aim to make “safe” movies, in the specific comedies. Surely something in recent years has been changing. I cannot really say whether or not in a stable way. In this moment there are Garrone and Sorrentino, who are internationally acclaimed authors, and many emerging young Directors who are having a great success at the Festivals; the real problem is that making “original” films is extremely difficult in Italy, and the public is becoming increasingly less familiar with movies of a certain level.
You had your film 'The Plague' play at Cannes. How was that experience? TOMMASO: My short was selected at the Short Film Corner, which allowed me to experience the Festival during its second week. The atmosphere of Cannes is unique, you can almost smell the scent of great cinema in the air and entering a preview movie is very exciting. I took more this opportunity to live and enjoy the Festival rather than promote my short film, because I still consider it a project where there are many things that I would like to improve, and now I'm organizing similar experiences in other major festivals such as Sundance, Locarno, Toronto etc.
What will you be working on next? Filmmaker Tommaso Frangini
Interview by Vanessa McMahon
31.07.2018 | Vanessa McMahon's blog Cat. : Interview with Filmmaker Tommaso Frangini for 'The Plague' (2017) and 'Ecate' (2017) Interviews PEOPLE
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