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Interview- Independent Filmmaker Alessandro Colizzi on the move with 'Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli'

Director Alessandro Colizzi has been making films for years, but his latest project has earned him a great deal of international acclaim, bringing attention to the fine art of independent filmmaking. Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli is a hilarious portrait of parenthood, the God-given gift of children and life after these little angels enter the world.

The film first came to my attention this past Spring when it was shown at one of my favorite film festivals- the Rome Independent Film Festival (RIFF), a wonderful arena for independent filmmakers all over the world. The films shown at RIFF are honest, in-your-face stories made by filmmakers that refuse to stray from their vision in order to please financial backers. Upon seeing the trailer and various clips from Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli, I felt compelled to contact Colizzi to learn more about this film and his adventures as an independent filmmaker in Italy.

Our interview was done in Italian, so both versions are included.

First, tell me about your work as a director in both television and film.
The only work I've done in television is the documentary All women of Fassbinder on the role of women in the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a director who I adore but has unfortunately been a little forgotten. Everything else I've done has been for cinema.
My work as a director is closely related to writing. That's where I start when I begin thinking about a movie. The fact that I've also published two novels has had a direct impact on the preliminary phase of the scripts. In addition, I work with screenwriter, Silvia Cossu, who is very attentive  to the challenges of form as well as content.

In primo luogo, parlarmi del tuo lavoro di regista. Ho visto che hai lavorato in televisione e al cinema.
In realtà per la televisione ho girato solo "Tutte le donne di Fassbinder", un documentario sulla figura della donna nel cinema di Fassbinder, un regista che ho amato molto e che purtroppo è stato un po' dimenticato. Tutti gli altri lavori sono pensati per il cinema. 
Il mio lavoro di regista è strettamente legato alla scrittura, è da lì che parto quando comincio a pensare un film. Ho pubblicato anche due romanzi e questo influenza molto l'attenzione che cerco di mettere nella fase preliminare della sceneggiatura. In più collaboro con una sceneggiatrice, Silvia Cossu, che è anche lei una scrittrice molto attenta ai problemi di forma oltre che di contenuto.
Your new film, Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli has received a lot of attention and was shown at the Rome Independent Film Festival. Tell me about this film, and why you wanted to talk about couples after having children?
We initially had some trouble with Crushed Lives. We wrote it several years ago and we had planned a collaboration with RAI. But for various reasons, it was never made. Two years ago, I came across the script and thought it was worth a try to produce it. It's a politically incorrect comedy. It's a sharp film, quite different from my previous two. I felt that even though it had been sitting on the shelf for a while, the text had not lost its originality or its freshness. The dialogue is direct and poignant, talking about sex in a fun way, without prudery. With this film, we broke down the taboo (very Italian) of the untouchable sanctity of children. It was a real challenge. The idea was to be able to do it independently, and to make a low budget film entirely produced by us. We rewrote the script and we started to search for actors, which in itself was like performing acrobatics as we had to work with a small budget, just four weeks of shooting and a bare-bones crew. But in the end, everything went smoothly. To our surprise, after finishing the film, the first accolades came from the USA. Within a few months the film was in competition at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California and then at the World Fest-Houston, where it won a Gold Remi for comedy- and finally at the Comedy Film Festival in Los Angeles. Then, it was shown at the Uruguay International Film Festival in Montevideo and more recently at the RIFF Rome (Rome Independent Film Festival). The film is set to be distributed by the Cinemateca Uruguaya Montevideo in October.

Il tuo nuovo film, "Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli" ha ricevuto molti attenzioni ed è stato mostrato al Rome Independent Film Festival. Raccontami questo film e il motivo per cui volevi parlare di questa storia di vita delle coppie dopo avere figli?
Crushed Lives ha una storia un po' travagliata. E' un film che abbiamo scritto diversi anni fa e che dovevamo fare con la Rai. Per varie ragioni non si è più fatto. Due anni fa mi è capitato tra le mani lo script e mi sono detto che valeva la pena riprovare a metterlo su. Si tratta di una commedia scorretta, tagliente, un film decisamente diverso dai due precedenti. Sentivo che nonostante fosse passato del tempo, il testo non aveva perso la sua originalità, la sua freschezza. I dialoghi sono diretti, pungenti, si parla di sesso in modo divertente, senza pruderie. In più in questo film abbattiamo il tabù (molto italiano) dell'intoccabile sacralità dei figli. Una vera sfida. L'idea era di riuscire a farlo in modo indipendente, un low budget interamente prodotto da noi. Abbiamo riscritto la sceneggiatura e ci siamo messi a cercare gli attori, è stata un'operazione funambolica (budget esiguo, quattro settimane di riprese, truppe ridotta all'osso) ma alla fine tutto è filato liscio. Con nostra grande sorpresa, una volta terminato il film, le prime attenzioni sono arrivate proprio dagli USA. Nell'arco di un paio di mesi il film è stato preso in concorso al Cinequest Film Festival di San Jose (CA), poi al World-Fest Houston, dove ha vinto un Gold Remi per la commedia, e infine al Comedy Film Festival di Los Angeles. A questi Festival si è aggiunto l'Uruguay International Film Festival di Montevideo e solo alla fine il RIFF di Roma. Fra l'altro proprio in questi giorni abbiamo ricevuto la mail della Cinemateca Uruguaya che lo distribuirà a Montevideo a ottobre.
Tell me about the market for independent filmmakers in Italy. Do you feel that the Italian public supports independent cinema?
It is very difficult. Distributing an independent film without the support of a distributor is a challenging enterprise. Things have changed over the years. The distributor used to invest in the production of a film with a guaranteed minimum. Now, it's exactly the opposite. It is the producer who gives that sum of money to the distributor. Obviously, a small independent film can not afford  this kind of spending and therefore is cut out of the market. This means, releasing the film during the middle of the summer in very few theaters without a real premiere. This unfortunately is the situation. Regarding the public.. sure there is a handfull of people that go to see these films but without a budget, it's not easy to get the word out that your film indeed exists and is showing in theaters. 
Com’è il mercato di film indipendenti in Italia? Il pubblico italiano supporta cinema indipendente?
E' molto difficile. Distribuire un film indipendente senza l'appoggio di un distributore è un'impresa donchisciottesca. Negli anni le cose sono molto cambiate: prima il distributore partecipava alla produzione di un film con una somma di denaro, il famoso (e compianto) minimo garantito, ora è esattamente l'opposto: è il produttore che lo dà al distributore. Ovviamente un piccolo film indipendente non può permettersi di sostenere anche questa spesa e in questo modo è tagliato fuori dal mercato. Ciò significa uscire in sala (quando si riesce con le proprie forze) in piena estate, con pochissime copie, senza un vero lancio pubblicitario... Questa purtroppo è la situazione. Per quanto riguarda il pubblico... Bé, il pubblico ci sarebbe anche. Non tutti sono assuefatti all'omologazione che si tende a imprimere alla maggior parte dei prodotti, diciamo cosi, ufficiali. In giro, per fortuna, gente curiosa ce n'è  parecchia. Si tratta di una nicchia ovviamente. La cosa più difficile è raggiungere queste persone e fargli sapere che il tuo film esiste.
What do you think of the Independent Film Channel?
I think that any platform dedicated to the distribution of independent films should absolutely be supported.
Cosa ne pensi del nuovo Independent Film Channel?
Credo che ogni spazio dedicato alla diffusione di prodotti che presentino profili d'indipendenza, non solo economica ma anche di sguardo, sia assolutamente da sostenere.
Will Crushed Lives be available in America?
Seeing how the public reacted at the American film festivals, I strongly hope so. The way in which the Americans were laughing is something that we will never forget. Panther Films, a company based in Los Angeles, is the distributor that has shown the most interest. For now, let's start in Uruguay. Then we'll see.

"Crushed Lives" sarà disponibile al pubblico americano?
Visto come il pubblico ha reagito nei Festival americani, lo spero vivamente. Il modo in cui ridevano gli americani è qualcosa che ancora ci portiamo dentro. Il nostro distributore per l'estero fra l'altro è Pantera Film, una società con sede a Los Angeles Hollywood, che ha già diversi contatti. Intanto cominciamo dall'Uruguay, poi si vedrà.
We will keep you updated on distribution for Crushed Lives-Il sesso dopo i figli film. In the meantime,  visit the film's website. 

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