Where does your passion for cinema come from? How did you know it was the right path for you?

For as long as I can remember, cinema has always been a part of my life, ever since I was a child my father allowed me to watch with him art films certainly not suitable for a young boy but, in any case, it was thanks to the works of Buñuel, Ferreri, Fellini, Risi (and many others that my father watched in the living room) that I got closer to that world. After high school I chose to enroll in DAMS in Bologna, and at that time I started making my first no-budget short films with my colleagues at the university. A few years later, around the age of 24/25, I started to make audiovisual a profession and today, more than ten years later, I continue to alternate my artistic path with the one related to commercial video.

What roadblocks did you face along your path?

In 2012, having finished my master’s degree (I had chosen “Tv, cinema and new media” at IULM in Milan), I found myself lost. I thought, what now? I had done a lot of theory, little practice and had no contacts in the industry. It was a very difficult economic period for our country, and the offers I had available were only for poorly paid or really unpaid internships. I thought I would change my horizon and give up doing something else, but fortunately I decided to enter the magical world of freelance. The first jobs came, the first clients with small budgets and then, month after month, things went well and I laid the foundation for what later became a very satisfying filmmaking career.

What impact do you think the pandemic had on the future of the film industry?

Very difficult question. I’ll try to answer. I think the pandemic has accelerated a process that was already happening: the explosion of streaming platforms at the expense of theaters. They will still survive but I think the rules of the game will change completely. The industry has a bright future: thanks to platforms, more and more audiovisuals will be produced for more and more audiences who will be able to enjoy them in new ways. I am thinking, for example, of VR.

What or who has inspired the most your development as a filmmaker?

I have loved Allen’s sarcasm (and his view of the world) for as long as I can remember. And also Kubrick represents for me perfection in the form of staging.
I am not inspired by them because they are unmatched sacred monsters, especially the latter, but certainly these authors made me want to study film first and become a filmmaker later. Of course there are many others who have been very important to me: Fellini, Leone, Monicelli, Scola, Moretti just to name the first italian ones that come to mind. Thinking about foreigners, I can say Paul Thomas Anderson: every one of his films is so powerful, so “definitive.”

What is your personal project that you are most linked to? What do you hope for your future?

A small documentary filmed in prison with almost no budget thanks to a call from “Intesa San Paolo”: it is titled “Voices from within” and on Youtube it has exceeded 200 thousand views in a few months and continues to be viewed every day by many users who create, in the comments below, debates sometimes constructive sometimes less so. I think it is my most straightforward and sincere work.
As for tomorrow I hope to continue making a living doing what I like, choosing more artistic projects perhaps and less corporate/commercial projects.

How do you feel about our Red Couch platform, designed for young filmmakers and their experimentation?

Pure oxygen for independent cinema, an important tool that I hope will grow over time.

Click here to discover the complete biography of Lucio Laugelli and his works.