Originally
from Italy and now residing in London, Paolo Benetazzo is a film maker, actor
and visual artist, with his own production company, ARTtouchesART Films.
With
a very interesting and busy life, I was honoured to be able to interview him
for this piece and find out more about his past and present career.
I
found Paolo to be intriguing, very friendly and someone you could quite easily
spend hours talking to, although I didn’t want to take up too much of his busy
schedule.
Through
this interview I learned much more about Paolo, what inspired him and how he
got to this exciting stage in his career.
Interview
Lyndsey: Hi
Paolo,
First
of all, it’s a pleasure to meet you and an honour to be able to interview you!
Paolo:
Thank you
for doing this interview…you're too nice, thanks a lot! Appreciate that.
Lyndsey:
You’ve
had quite an interesting and busy career to date, a master of all trades! Can
you tell me a bit more about what
first enticed you to get into films/music and where your career has taken
you since then?
Paolo: I have loved films ever
since I can remember. At the age of 19 I began acting and filming while
attending the University of Padua. Experiencing a temporary conflict with the
academic environment, I interrupted my studies for some years, picking up
different jobs, until I eventually graduated in 2003 with a master’s degree in
psychology. In 2007 after travelling around Europe and living in Dublin for a
few years, I started working on my feature film directorial debut. Discouraged
by the Italian film industry, I moved to London in 2011. The following year, I
founded ARTtouchesART Films, which is a film production company focused on true
independent cinema. The company is responsible for the production of art house
films, music videos and visual art. ARTtouchesART manifesto is “One Artist, One
Vision”. I consider filmmaking, like every form of art, an intense expression
of individualism: “When you can’t see the line between fiction and reality,
filmmaking becomes your lifestyle.”
Between
2007 and 2012 I wrote, produced, photographed and directed my independent film
Study. I also starred in the lead role and composed the soundtrack. The film
features my art works in several shots.
At
the end of 2012 I worked with artist Danny Sherwood in the production of Bitter
Ditty. In 2013 I wrote, directed, photographed and edited the music video
Salamander for rock band Mount Fabric and Like to Party for electronic producer
Cal Strange. The video Like to Party was selected for the BBC Music Video Festival
2013.
At
the end of 2013 I wrote, directed, photographed and edited the short film
Sense, a romantic short film about dominance and submission. It was filmed in a
professional dungeon.
Lyndsey:
Thanks
Paolo - certainly a busy and interesting life you've lead!
Paolo: Thank you Lyndsey…what really took
all my energies and time was the feature film...when I work on a short film or
music video is definitely more relaxing. Honestly… making a feature film was so
extreme that I thought about quitting on several occasions. It was very
beautiful but also very hard…was like living a dream in hell.
Lyndsey: Was it the long hours you had to put
into it?
Paolo: I'd say more the long years…since it
took me almost 5 years. Some weeks you can work all the time, other weeks you
have to wait for locations, permits, weather, actors, etc.
I
guess it took me so long because the film was made on an extremely low budget
and was entirely shot without any film crew.
Lyndsey: Did you feel it was worth it in the
end? I had a look at some of the videos from the website and they looked really
interesting!
Paolo:
oh thank
you. At the end I was really proud of what I did…not because it was my film,
but because the way I managed to complete the whole project. When you work on
micro budgets it's very common to give up or make it a short film instead, but
at the end it was a professional art house film and I will always love
it….cause it will always be my first one.
Lyndsey: I can imagine that would
make it even more special, that you didn't give up despite the difficulties you
faced.
Paolo: so true…Many scenes were filmed with
no one behind the camera. Influenced by unconventional filmmaking techniques, I
worked with an open screenplay and used unknown actors, friends and family. The
budget was ridiculous, the film crew was inexistent and I had no connections
whatsoever. I consider this film a true independent film. I say "true
independent" because these days films made on 1 million dollars are considered
independent films as well….They're considered independent because they are not
produced by famous studios. Nevertheless they're not made by independent
filmmakers with micro budgets.
Lyndsey: what
was your main inspiration to make an independent movie? was it the love of
doing it, desire to be successful or was money your inspiration?
Paolo: It was both the desire to tell a
story in full length film and the chance to get noticed internationally.
Lyndsey:
do you
feel you achieved the desired recognition internationally?
Paolo: Not yet. Study has been screened and
awarded at international film festivals and has since developed a cult
following…but the film needs a proper promotion to become famous worldwide.
Lyndsey: I'm sure you'll get there!
Paolo: oh thank you
Lyndsey: so, you moved from Italy to London,
how did you find it? and do you miss Italy?
Paolo: I love London, It was rough the first
year though. The city is so fast and may be very cynical sometimes, but I got
used to it now. The whole world lives in London and that's very inspiring. I
don't really miss Italy but I do miss the food and the summer weather.
Lyndsey: Have you been back since
you moved to London?
Paolo: Yes, I try to go back a couple of
times a year…It's been 2 years since I moved to London.
Lyndsey: Italy is always somewhere I’d like to
see.... you must have visited a lot of different and interesting places, what
was your favourite?
Paolo: I really like Paris, Berlin and
Moscow….but I also enjoyed Scotland…Loved the highlands and the whisky!!
Lyndsey: I was interested to hear your answer to is
who/what inspires you most?
Paolo: To be honest with you, I love many of
them…at the end of the day watching films is such an experience for me…Every
great movie I admire is distinguished by an unique expression of creativity…I
love when films possess you, but when it comes to filmmaking I always try to
keep a certain distance from them.
Lyndsey: Is that so you can keep focused on
it? I’d imagine if you became to engulfed in it you'd start to nit-pick at
everything!
Paolo: If I watch the film and I'm into it,
I forgot about technics and styles, I'm with the character and it's all about
atmosphere and feelings. If I start checking acting and directing it means the
film doesn't really seduce me. Some people watching films to kill their time
others to feel something, I want to feel something… possibly something really
intense, but that doesn't happen often unfortunately.
Lyndsey: What
was the last film you watched which made you feel like this?
Paolo: great question….. I saw this film a
few months ago….The Hunt (2012 film) It's a Danish film…..that was amazing,
original story, great characters, strong emotions. It went under my skin for
days. There are lots of amazing films produced by Scandinavian filmmakers. Such
a shame when American studios decide to remake them with English, they ruin
them.
Lyndsey: I’ll
need to check that out!
Lyndsey: ok, I’ll ask you a final question and
let you get on... what are you currently working on?
Paolo: I'm
working on a set of music videos for new artists. I count on starting to work on a new short film by
March next year. A very introspective one.
Lyndsey: Well keep us posted, would be
interested to see more of your work in the future!
Paolo: Sure,
I will. Thanks a lot for your interest and taking the time to do this
interview.
Lyndsey: Thank
you for doing it, it's been really interesting
Paolo: My
pleasure
If
you found this interview intriguing, you can find out more about Paolo, with
clips from his past and present work at http://www.beonthescene.com/profile.php?profile_userid=264
Why not join us today? http://www.beonthescene.com/signup/
Lyndsey McLaughlin
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