Skip to main content

Interview: David Cinnella, Producer of Indie Western to be shot in Basilicata

From the makers of While Web Series comes another ambitious project. This time, the young filmmakers are following in the footsteps of their iconic predecessor Sergio Leone.

According to producer David Cinnella, “Tek” is a Cyberpunk Western with sci-fi influences. Like “While”, the series will be shot entirely in Basilicata. The creators of “Tek” are prolific writers and filmmakers currently producing a wealth of material from news reports to magazine articles to a web series. Among their projects, which showcase the creativity and talent of artists and filmmakers not only from Basilicata but from all over the world, are the online magazine “Voce Spettacolo” and the production company, 149 pictures.


Born in the town of Policoro to an American mother and Italian father, David Cinnella was raised in Matera. His diverse cultural background led him to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he studied filmmaking. He currently resides in Los Angeles. I asked him about this project and where his team plans to distribute the series once it’s finished.


What made you decide to make a Western?
I was once reading a script that happened to be a Western, and I was trying to visualize it in a way that I knew would be interesting and appealing to me. I, however, am not a particularly big Western fan, per se, but there were instances in which I did find the genre appealing. So, I thought to myself what were the ones that particularly held my interest, and that’s when it hit me. Exceptions aside, Westerns interest me the most when there’s an added sci-fi element to it. Even if just a small one. So, I pictured what I was reading as a more Cyberpunk Western -- which is what “TEK” actually is --, and the more I read, the more I couldn’t focus, because suddenly the images were becoming too beautiful in my head. I had also worked the summer of that same year on the web-series “While”, where we had great fun, and then I started to pick certain props, actors, locations, etc. that I knew could be filmable and available to us. Suddenly, the pieces started falling together. I can respectfully and honestly say that the story I had come up with was entirely different from what I was reading, so it wasn’t a copycat of it, but the way I was picturing it in my head was so visually interesting, for me, that I couldn’t read anything anymore, and that night, without possibly considering sleep, I decided to write it all down in one go. And so, after many revisions, the script is now complete, and after a meeting with the people of the “While” webseries, we decided that it was a worth-while project to pursue this year. 


Will it be a film or series- and shown on the web, television or movie theater?
At the moment, it’s only a short 30-minute film. However, during the many revisions of the script, I dabbled with the idea of expanding it to something longer, and with the help of a few friends, we actually did come up with an interesting way to expand it for more. So, should “TEK” ever become a success, we have enough material to make it a feature length film. As far as where it’ll be released, it will be online on YouTube, and then sent to various film festivals. And should anyone be interested in picking this up for a feature, we’d be only more than happy if it gets either a theatrical release, or a streaming release like on Netflix or other platforms.


What can you tell me about the plot?
I won’t say too much because it could reveal key elements of the story, so I’ll keep it short: In a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future where society has regressed to a pseudo-Western time, and technology has become a rarity, a single and lone gunslinger by the name of TEK roams the lands, searching for the people responsible for the death of his wife and daughter.
Where are you in the production process?
We are currently in pre-production. In June we will start the casting session in Southern Italy, and are aiming to shoot the film itself around the beginning of the second half of July, and if all goes well, it should take the rest of the month – possibly a few days into August – to complete filming. Then, we will enter in post-production. 


Have you shot anything yet?
So far, we have shot both a teaser and featurette, which we have posted on our Indiegogo campaign and through cold weather and sickness, we were able to do it all in a single day.


Explain to me what makes Basilicata this land of cinema.. with so many film productions happening in the region lately.
There’s a number of reasons as to why the region of Basilicata is so filmable. It has a history as ancient as human society itself; the beaches are wide and clean; the hills are soft and peaceful; there are great cinematographic mountains and rich, green forests; and best of all, the buildings reflect that history by being several thousand years old, hence why they make so many historical films there, especially in Matera – awarded the European Capital of Culture for 2019 – where they shot a number of great films, among which are “King David” (1985) starring Richard Gere, and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ” (2004), and where they just finished shooting “Wonder Woman” (2017), starring Gal Gadot.

We'll keep you posted on the progress of "Tek". In the meantime, watch the teaser trailer on vimeo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′  - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luminous Legacies: Yoichi Ohira’s Murano Glass at Magazzino Italian Art

A new exhibition in Cold Spring, New York, is bringing the luminous legacy of Murano glassmaking into focus through the work of Japanese artist Yoichi Ohira. “Yoichi Ohira: Japan in Murano” is on view at  Magazzino Italian Art  until February 2027. The exhibit showcases the work of Ohira, who became a leading figure in the design of Venetian glassworks on the island of Murano. The exhibition features works that highlight the uniqueness of Ohira’s art across the decades of his career. Ohira’s earliest Murano works blend Venetian glass techniques with his own style. These pieces show balanced shapes, clear surfaces, and striking color combinations. His Venezia e l’Oriente (Venice and the Orient) decanters reflect Venice’s ties to the East, creating vases inspired by Marco Polo’s tales with a modern twist. The exhibition shows Ohira’s respect for Murano’s glass masters, displaying objects alongside preparatory drawings that map ideas to the final works of art. It also explores ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration.  Nicknamed a  “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as  the actress who moved him most,  Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times.  Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Conversation with Talia Shire

She has immortalized two of the most memorable characters in American cinema and now she’s promoting her new film that mirrors issues facing the working class. Talia Shire became a household name in the 1970s with her role as Connie Corleone in "The Godfather" and Adrian Balboa in "Rocky"– two characters that went on to experience tremendous growth in the sequels of both films.  Shire and her brother, collaborator and director Francis Ford Coppola grew up in a family that embraced the arts. Their father Carmine Coppola was a renowned flutist and composer. He often took his children on the road when he performed. So there was always that creative energy and sense of adventure present in their childhood and adolescent years.  “What you have to understand is that Francis is probably the greatest writer. He and Mario (Puzo) did Shakespeare and the Greeks. So people who love "The Godfather" are really listening to literature. He went on and did what ...
Post a Comment
Read more