Alfred Tennyson’s poem “In Memoriam” argues that ‘Tis better to have loved and lost,/ Than never to have loved at all.” But there is another possibility. In their deeply moving love story “The Meeting,” Italian filmmakers Clara Congera & Sigfrido Giammona suggest that memory can make it possible for us to keep love alive. The film, a finalist in this year’s Filmic Fest, is a finalist in the 2019 Mobile Movie of the Year competition. You can see the other finalists here.

Interview with Sigfrido Giammona & Clara Congera

MMM: How did you develop your filmmaking skills? 

Sigfrido: My journey into the world of video began as a cameraman. I attended the Experimental Television Center in Rome, later working as a video operator for various TV productions. When I felt the need to express myself as a director, I attended a directing campus in Sicily. I was fortunate to have Roberto Perpignani for a mentor, who was Orson Welles’ assistant editor. I also worked for other directors as a video editor, which is another specialty of mine. 

Clara: My training starts from dance, as a dancer and choreographer, then from theatre as an actress and director. Afterwards I had the luck to work in film sets as an actor coach until I covered the role of director assistant. 

 MMM: Did any  filmmakers work influence you?

Sigfrido: When I started studying film in the late 90s, the director who influenced me the most was Wim Wenders in the film “Wings of Desire” (“Der Himmel über Berlin”). Some of my favorite directors are Quentin Tarantino, Sorrentino, Fellini, and Stanley Kubrick. 

Clara: Several.  Federico Fellini’s visionary inspiration, Roberto Benigni’s poetics, Gabriele Muccini’s melancholy, and Quentin Tarantino’s realism.

MMM:  How did you come up with the idea for “The Meeting”?

Sigfrido: When I proposed to Clara to make a short film made entirely with a smartphone, she already had an idea to make a tribute to the great Italian actor, Luigi Maria Burruano. Burruano was Sicilian, like me, and I had the opportunity to work with him in 2010. He was the partner of Clara for many years in both life and work. Sadly, he died in 2017. Knowing we were making a short for an international festival like Filmic Fest, we tried to give a more universal message, what every human being has lived in some way – the loss of a loved one and the memory of life reinforced by a middle-aged character who lives in solitude in a small town in Sicily; during the course of the day he flashes back to his loved one who is no longer there. 

MMM: How did you prepare for the shoot? 

Sigfrido: First, we did a script, then location inspections, and preparation with the actors and voice artist. The whole project from start to finish took about two weeks, four days of set and a week for editing. 

Clara: We constructed the script in a chronological sequence: 2 days inside, and 2 days outside. The concept was more like working a theatre production than a film. 

MMM: What phone did you use?

Sigfrido: An iPhone 8 shot in 4K.

MMM: What are the pros and cons of shooting with a smartphone?

Sigfrido: There are advantages in optimizing production costs. The number of people needed is reduced compared to using a larger camera, the accessories are more pocket-sized, and you move more easily. For example, to stabilize a smartphone, I used an electronic stabilizer made for smartphones that fit in a backpack. Stabilization with a professional camera would require a steadycam operator with bulky equipment. The disadvantage is that you have an object that is also a phone, so you have to break contact with the world . Another disadvantage is that the sensor of the smartphone is small and heats up easily. Shooting in 4K consumes a lot of energy, so your battery goes quickly. But if you know the techniques to make the most of a small camera like a smartphone, you can avoid certain problems. Today there are a number of manufacturers that have made cinema accessories on smartphones, and a simple mobile phone can turn into a mini professional camera. 

MMM: Could you talk about the gear you used?

Sigfrido: Our excellent cinematographer Maurizio Greco used the Zhiyun Smooth Q smartphone stabilizer with an anamorphic lens  by Moondog Labs. I really like the cinematic look that it gives to the film. Also from Moondog, I added the rig to mount the Gobe 52mm ND filters that were indispensable in the external shots with strong light. For the internal scenes, we used LED light panels. For the scene of the protagonist from above, a jib crane was used.

MMM: Your film was a finalist in the FiLMiC Pro competition. Did you shoot with their app?

Sigfrido: We did. In my opinion, the FilmicPro app is the best app for making movies with a smartphone. It has the ability to set up the phone just like a professional camera, from the Log format to the sectarian of the frames, the focus exposure, etc.. In short, they are the same functions that can be found in a Reflex or pro camera. Congratulations to the Filmic Pro Team for this App.

MMM:  Could you tell us how you found those terrific actors? 

Clara: Both male roles were interpreted by actors that I knew for many years, in particular Rosario Terranova, who has been a long time friend and acting colleague. 

Sigfrido: We wanted the protagonist to bear a resemblance to the actor Luigi Maria Burruano.

Sigfrido: Rosario Terranova was not only a professional actor and friend of Clara’s, but also had Burruano as a mentor. Clara, having had a deep relationship with Burruano, was able to teach Rosario some of the gestures that were natural to Burruano during his life. Rosario was profoundly honored to take on this particular role. The daughter of Burruano, Gelsomina, was very moved by Rosario’s interpretation of her father. The final male voiceover is a private recording of the voice of Luigi Maria Burruano.

Clara: The female character was an emotional cameo portrayed by myself. 

MMM: What about the voiceover actor?

Sigfrido: With plans to enter an international film festival, we wanted to record the voiceover with a native English speaker. Lucky for me, my wife, Mara Notte is from Los Angeles (in fact, she’s the one making my written English sound so good in this interview)! Mara is a professionally trained singer, voice artist, and musician/engineer, so it was easy to get her in and out of the recording studio with a great sounding recording in just a few takes. 

MMM: Could you tell us how you found those beautiful locations?

Clara: Sigfrido and I had considered filming the outdoor scenes in the historic parts of Palermo. But after going to see a performance by Rosario Terranova in Chiusa Sclafani, a tiny town in the Sicilian countryside. Rosario invited us to see the location, and we knew it would be perfect for the film. For the internal scenes, we found inspiration in my nephew’s private collection of antique toys, inherited from his late father. 

MMM: Could you talk about your approach to directing?

Sigfrido: My approach to directing began when I found myself wanting to express stories in a video form. I was intrigued by the world of cinema and documentary, so I started studying educational books. I later attended a campus with professionals who helped me to understand that in addition to the technique, you must also have the sensitivity to tell a story. The bathroom scene is one of those I prefer both from a photographic point of view, and also in terms of set design. Here, I would also like to mention Rossella Congera, who was not only the set designer who gave us this particular and unique location in a house containing original antique toys, but was also the film’s costume designer. I also like the expression of actor Rosario Terranova while looking in the mirror that so expressed the feeling of a lonely and melancholy middle-aged man during a moment of intimacy. 

Clara: I wanted to construct the mirror scene as a memory of two men: my father, and my life partner, both strangely similar, and so doubly important for me. Rosario, in that scene was not only technically impressive, but for a moment was able to bring these deep memories back to life. 

 MMM: During the shooting, did you encounter any unexpected difficulty?

Clara & Sigfrido: The most difficult scene to shoot was that of the procession, because it was a true procession in Sicilian Catholic style. Even though people knew we were making a film, since it was a real procession, we knew that we would not be able to film multiple takes. The tension was very high, also because these shots were to be used as the opening scenes of the film. We organized ourselves with a second camera in order to take more live shots, knowing that we could not make mistakes. 

MMM: What about the sound track?

Sigfrido: The soundtrack resulted from a couple of days searching that I did with Clara on a licensed music library platform called ArtList. When Clara and I listened to the song “She” by Josh Leake, after having heard about 50 other songs, we immediately realized that it was the perfect song for the film on an emotional level. The audio mix and edit was done by Piero Zito.

 MMM: What was your approach to the editing?

Sigfrido: The editing was not difficult because I had clear ideas. More difficult for me was the choice of color grading together with Clara, to express the right mood for the scenes. For editing I used Premiere CC 2019, and for color grading, Davinci Resolve. Video Editing is one of those jobs that I love, and also do for others as a freelancer. 

MMM: Do you have any advice for people just beginning to make movies?

Sigfrido: The basis of a good film is to have a good story to tell the public. Focus on the choice of characters, and then think about the technical aspect to give the film its own personality. 

Clara: If you have something to say, and you feel an urgency to say it, be as real as possible. 

MMM: Anything else you’d like to share?

Sigfrido: “The Meeting was actually my second film made on a smartphone – My first experience using FilmicPro was a short documentary on Jim Morrison The Poet that I filmed in Los Angeles in 2017. For those interested, here is the link: https://vimeo.com/243514415 

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You can find more about Sigfrido at  sigfridogiammona.com and instagram.com/sighywood

The editors of MobileMovieMaking have selected “The Meeting” as a Mobile Movie of the Week.