October 27th (Wednesday), from 17:00 @TIFF movie café
Appearance Matteo Botrugno (director/screenplay), Daniele Coluccini (director/screenplay),Maurizio Tesei (actor), Simone Isola (producer)


Matteo Botrugno (MB): We are very proud to be participating in TIFF, and in the Competition Section. It was a low budget project, however fortunately, we were supported by professional actors and a strong production company, and I think we have a very good film.

Daniele Coluccini (DC): The film depicts a real life situation in Rome, using the Roman dialect. We grew up influenced by Asian films so we would be very happy if we could impress the audience in Asia.

Maurizio Tesei (MT): I am happy to be a part of such a beautiful film festival held in such a beautiful city. I think that this is a great victory for us and for all independent film makers, that such a small film could be highlighted at an international festival.

Simone Isola (SI): I am very pleased to have participated in TIFF. Making this film was one big life experience. It was the first work by our production company Kimera Film. It is rare in Italy that films are produced by a small production, so I am thoroughly delighted.

Q: Why did you choose to use the RED digital video camera?

MB: There are two reasons. The first is for economical reasons. We could not afford to use films. One of the most promising non-film shootings is done using RED. Steven Soderbergh and Lars von Trier use it too, and looking at their works, we decided that this was our solution.

MT: We tested it before going into the actual shoot. We had our cinematographer Davide Manca print them, and we liked them. We were sure that we made the right choice.

Q: Did you visit the ghetto area many times to complete the script?

DC: We went location hunting to many places but we decided to shoot in a suburban town called Corviale we have known since our childhood. Kids from Rome would know about it, too. It’s where that big long building stands. We decided that it was the ideal location to shoot different stories within the film. It’s a small town with a population of 14,000, and many live and cherish these big monster-like cement buildings. Actually, many of these buildings are not
completed, abandoned by construction companies who went bankrupt before completion. But people just move themselves in and make them their home. We are talking about people who are basically ignored and forgotten who live in a crime-ridden part of the city. It is exactly the kind of place where ‘Marco’ would be.

Q: So you chose to shoot in a familiar location. Are there actual people who were models of the characters?

DC: In the process of writing the script, we had the image of the face of each character in our minds. We had to finish the script in 10 to 15 days so we worked on the cast at the same time. When we were location hunting in Corviale, we ran into many faces that we initially imagined. The man at the bar, the barista, the girl who was working her way through college, and even that little retarded boy. Conversely, this means that we had a very realistic script about real people, and we are please about the outcome.

Q: Maurizio, what was your first reaction to the script?

MT: I instantly liked it. Although I wasn’t familiar with Corviale, I am from another suburban town in Rome, so I know what Rome is like. I like everything about Rome, good or bad. There were enough models around me in terms of personality and background; so as a professional actor, I took in what I could to act out the role of Marco.

And Peace on Earth

Film Information