Hollywood movies often use astonishing visual effects to hold an audience captive. But it is possible for a movie to enchant us with words and facial expression. As an example, consider Giacomo Tinti’s two-person drama about a father laying out a life plan for his young daughter. The conflict between convention and freedom is quiet but intense. In the interview below, director Tinti talks about how he came to make this highly original movie.

Interview with Giacomo Tinti

MMM: What’s your background?
TINTI:I’m an Italian boy of 23 who grew up in Nebbiuno, a small village near Lake Maggiore. From an early age I was passionate and fascinated by cinema, a passion that was handed down to me by my father. I’ve never studied filmmaking. Actually I’m a student of Humanities for Communication in Milan.

MMM: How did you get into film?
TINTI:Exactly at 21 I wanted to start to approach the cinema in a practical way, taking the opportunity from a short movie competition in Milan. I had no experience as a filmmaker and no  ability to use cameras. But I remembered that when I made my first trip to the US (San Francisco and NYC) the year before, I learned about the possibility of shooting movies with the iPhone. I was also enchanted by Sean Baker’s “Tangerine” film, shot completely with an Iphone 5s! And so I decided to take in my hand my iPhone 6, buy the bare minimum of equipment and get to work!

MMM: In addition to Sean Baker, what other filmmakers shaped your approach?
TINTI: I’m a lover of all genres and directors, and from each one you can learn something. But if I have to give an answer, I would say that there are two directors I’ve been inspired by. Xavier Dolan is a Canadian director and an award winner at the Cannes Film Festival. I love the taste and beauty of his framing, his use of colors, and his wonderful photography. I admire his fresh and independent vision, and his boldness in telling dramatic and often painful themes. The scene at the beginning of my short movie— with the colored blankets moved by the wind—is a visual reference to the films of Xavier Dolan.

MMM: And the second director?
TINTI: Woody Allen. It would be simplistic to describe him in a  few lines, but I love his irony and his reflection on the world and on life. I’m also in love with his sound tracks that always refer to jazz and distant times. The use of Bessie Smith song  in “Margherita”is a tribute to Woody Allen.

MMM: Let’s talk about your film. How did you come up with that really unusual story idea?
TINTI: The theme of “Margherita” is very personal. I’ve observed that our society increasingly and more insistently pushes young people to make decisions in advance, stealing your youth and your carefree spirit. So that’s where the story came from. I liked the idea of a young girl who wanted to become a truck driver, a predominantly male job. I love creating surreal contrasts and transporting them into everyday reality. I started to think what could happen to a girl who has this dream in a misogynist, racist society that only produces workers ready to perform their paid job, a society that doesn’t worry what people really are, what their thoughts are, desires, dreams and values.

MMM: The two actors really deliver on that idea. How did you find them?
TINTI: They’re family friends. While writing the story,  I thought of them as characters. And I simply forced them to act for me! Low, almost zero budget is my motto!

MMM: Could you talk about how you got such a strong performance from that young woman?
TINTI: I was very lucky to have found Viola Donderi to play Margherita. She was 12 years old when she acted in the movie. I agree that her expressiveness is almost indescribable. This wasn’t her first movie, and she was really easy to direct. In a morning we had done all her scenes.

MMM: And the part of Margherita’s father?
TINTI: Working with Riccardo Tocco was more difficult. We had to work a lot on the tone and the speed of speech. However I like to describe myself as a director who talks a lot with his actors, who creates a strong connection and who tries to make them identify with the narrative content that the movie wants to tell.

MMM: Could you say a bit more about shooting with a smartphone?
TINTI: It was the only tool that allowed me to give substance to my ideas and creativity without having a technical background. It’s easy to use and if you also have a good cinematographic background, you can get very good results.

MMM: What gear did you use?
TINTI: A stabilizer, a tripod, a portable battery and—most important—a Rode VideoMic Go. You absolutely need a good microphone because quality audio is essential.

MMM: How long did the production take?

TINTI: Writing the screenplay took a few months. I don’t like to write, but a friend was fascinated by my idea and he offered himself to write the script. The work went slowly because we live far apart. The shooting took three days and the editing two days.

MMM: What about the sound track? It’s really complex, with the mixture of jazz and electronic music.
TINTI: For the electronic music track I spent two months to find someone that could help me for free. The electronic base has the sense of giving rhythm and anguish at the same time. The song is present at the beginning, then interrupted by the sound of a truck horn. Then near the end of the film the jazz song resumes from the exact breakpoint. The first reason for this design was to disorient the viewer and not give temporal points of reference. But there is also a more hidden meaning. I wanted to represent an act of everyday life as normal as any other act that could happen during the day. Life is made up of acts that usually do not affect our choices. The sound track reinforces that idea: “So much noise for nothing.” The interrupted song resumes a few minutes later and continues as if nothing had ever happened. And we ask ourselves: is it all like at the beginning or has something really changed? Only the viewer can give an answer.

MMM: What was your goal with the editing?
TINTI:  It isn’t easy to make a monologue lively. By chance, one day I became fascinated by the sculpture of a family friend: the pieces all represented the same woman, youthful and smiling. I thought that inserting them into the monologue could break the monotony and give rhythm to the speech. I reinforced this intention by inserting the electronic base that grows increasing its pace and creating almost a sense of alienation and anxiety to the monologue of the father. I love the idea of the statues because they have multiple meanings and each viewer finds his own: from a purely aesthetic object to a feminine image that refers to Margherita; from the chorus of the ancient Greek tragedies to the sense of immobility and immortality of the statue.

MMM: What advice would you give to someone just starting out making movies?
TINTI: If you have an idea and a lot of love and passion for cinema, hold the first tool you can use and shoot your story. To do it takes ideas, passion and a lot of culture. You’ve to watch a lot of movies and don’t be scared by technological means or practical skills. The history of cinema has been written by people who have always broken the previous rules, but always with culture and intelligence. For example, the group of directors of the “Dogma 95” became famous thanks to the use of the first HD cameras that were extremely cheaper than the film: and from that group, the great director Lars Von Trier came out! So… largo alle idee e che nessuno provi a fermarvi! (“Be open to ideas, and no one can stop you.”)

To learn more about Giacomo Tinti, check out his Facebook page.

“Margherita” has been chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week by the editors of MobileMovieMaking.com.