DarkVeins interviews Luca Alessandro, Allegra Bernardoni, Domiziano Cristopharo and Federico Greco, the directors of E.N.D. - The Movie, the Italian zombie movie divided into three episodes. The first segment, "E.N.D.” (Day Zero), is written and directed by Luca Alessandro and Allegra Bernardoni, two students of Federico Greco's directing and writing course; "Reveniens“ (Day #1466) is the second episode and is directed by Domiziano Cristopharo for a screenplay by Antonio Tentori; the concluding segment, "Z-Sapiens” (Day #2333), is directed by Federico Greco, the creator of the project.
The three segments of E.N.D. - The Movie are interconnected and the story takes place over a period of about ten years. Cause of the epidemic: drugs.
[divider]
We address a few questions to Luke Alexander (episode "Dream Door" of The Pyramid) and Allegra Bernardoni, the directors of the first episode ("E.N.D."), who also edited the script.
L: You are the director of the first episode (E.N.D.) together with Allegra Bernardoni. The film, which I personally enjoyed very much, was born as the final project of Federico Greco's directing and writing course. Tell us about this experience.
LUCA A.: I must preface this by saying that I already knew Greco by name from his film "Road to L.," which I appreciated so much that I preferred it to its richer brother TBWP. So as soon as I learned from a friend that he was teaching a course at CineTeatro in Rome, I did not hesitate to enroll. I still remember the
interview ... I had to start a parallel path to be able to take his classes, which were those in the second year, purely focused on film writing. What I liked about the school was the practical approach, which really prepared for the set. I had come from a very
negative, where my money had literally been stolen. Then my luck was that I was able to continue working with Greco, starting new collaborations. I stole the craft with my eye, and I continue to do so as we have now become friends. I think that being next to a
professional, combined with practice, is the most appropriate way to learn.
L: E.N.D. is an excellent pilot episode that introduces the viewer to a claustrophobic and macabre location. Why the choice of a funeral home as the centerpiece of the story?
LUCA A.: The idea came from Allegra, during a brainstorming session. At that time there was also another student, who later backed out, creating quite a few problems for us. Again Allegra found that magnificent location, in Mentana, in the vicinity of her home. The owners of the agency, the D'Antoni brothers were really very helpful and I take this opportunity to thank them once again. Answering your question: if a zombie epidemic broke out, who would want to be inside a funeral home? What scarier place? Joking aside, in hindsight, we needed a place that was functional to the characters' journey, where the anguish of death perforce is over time rationalized... or nearly so.
L: How would you describe E.N.D. to a viewer who has not yet seen it?
LUCA A: None of the directors involved like horror as an end in itself, but only as a pretext for storytelling. As I said in a previous interview, the development of "E.N.D." surprised even me who was writing it. It was quite a challenge to take back the old characters and readjust them to the new context. If that wasn't enough -- have you ever seen a zombie smile?
L: What do you expect from E.N.D. - The Movie?
LUCA A: I have already participated in an episodic film, signing on to direct the second episode of "The Pyramid," "Dream Door." It was a fantastic experience, culminating in distribution in the U.S. (Bayview Entertainment) and Japan (Zazie Films). I hope the same for "E.N.D. - THE
MOVIE." Maybe this time I would like to get a bigger response in Italy.
[divider]
We now turn to Allegra Bernardoni to ask her a few questions about the first episode and the project in general:
L: You directed E.N.D. together with Luca Alessandro. What are your memories of this experience?
ALLEGRA B.: Well let's say I have a lot of memories, first of all the excitement combined with also the fear; finding yourself at 24 years old writing and directing your own film was something completely new and it was inevitable to have some fear of not succeeding; the tension of novelty. However, I remember from the very first page, from the very first day we met and decided to take on this experience, I said, "come on ... cool we can do it ... let's rock."
I also remember meeting the owners of the agency, characters who to me are a combination of two protagonists from a Verdone film but also a bit grotesque in a Burton way; of commendable simplicity and helpfulness. I also remember a day when we had to shoot Monica's arrival and we had to make sure that the moment all the main characters were in the room, one of these coffins had to move from the inside. Well me, Luca and Federico looked at each other and...I found myself inside the coffin. The problem is that at the stop of this scene there was a break... and I was in there for quite a while... but I must say that it was comfortable =).
L: An experience that not everyone experiences while alive. Dead people and coffins accompany a very macabre location. In the film, however, there is an ironic component that dampens the oppressive and painful sense of death. Can you tell us about this aspect?
ALLEGRA B.: Yes it is true the location could have been very gruesome. The idea of death, dealing with the death of one's child... is something very sad but I think the ironic component was the right thing to deal with it. We wanted to deal with the different ways and aspects of death, and the different ways of looking at it, not with the classic fear and grief of loss or with exaggerated drama but to find a different aspect, a different key, a bit of "lightness," which I think is the key to everything. In E.N.D. there is that cynical irony, which after all, at least for me, we should always have, even in daily life, so that we have a 360-degree view of something, in order to deal with everything in the best possible way.
L: How would you describe E.N.D. to a viewer who has not yet seen it?
ALLEGRA B.: Big Question!!!! Well let's say it's a story outside the usual "ranks." It's a film about different aspects, not only about death but also about human relationships that are created in a forced circumstance, because in any case our characters find themselves locked all together by force majeure in a place that is safe on the one hand and unsafe on the other. The three protagonists find themselves facing their fears and getting to know those whom they previously saw only as a function of a colleague and whose name they barely knew. Now, however, they are forced to form human relationships anyway. Each of the main characters however, as a bit of a "lab rat," will have to overcome their own limitations and fears, and I think this is also teaching. Each of them has a secret with them and they will come to terms with it.
Also, if I were to channel the film into a genre, to say that it is not only horror-zombie but also comedy and drama. So you, viewer who has not yet seen E.N.D. the short, run to see it: for me it is interesting, well written and well shot. You can recognize yourself in any of the characters in the story, and after all that's what we do every time we watch a movie. Then if you don't like it, it's too bad you got a coffin culture, which is always useful.
L: A "coffin culture"-very interesting! What do you expect from E.N.D. - The Movie?
ALLEGRA B.: It was a great project, a great work: 4 directors and 3 episodes... it would be hypocritical not to say success but I am convinced that when a work is done well and there are good directors with established names in the genre, this will not be missed. We have been and are a great team of great people who are established in their field. We've already had several reviews, and that gratifies not only us directors but the whole technical and artistic cast. And then E.N.D. - The Movie for me is a novelty in its genre and in the zombie field no longer the living dead as the villains but... and maybe that's the strength, desecrating the old patterns of the genre.
[divider]
A few questions to Domitian Christopharo (House of Flesh Mannequins, Doll Syndrome, Red Krokodyl...) who directed the second episode, "Reveniens“:
L: You gave an interview to DarkVeins exactly one year ago and E.N.D. The Movie was not yet among your projects. What fascinated you about this movie that you decided to be a part of it?
DOMIZIANO C: E.N.D. was born after our interview, during a very profitable train ride with Federico Greco. Chapter 1 of E.N.D. lent itself perfectly to be developed and integrated... after all, it was born as a web-series and we were all craving Zombies!
L: Tell us about your episode, Reveniens. First of all, what guided the choice of the title? How would you describe the zombies in your film? What should we expect from Reveniens?
DOMIZIANO C.: I wanted an elegant title that represented precisely something Italic...our zombies have nothing to envy to the American ones and I am a Fulci fan. Reveniens is Latin for "returners"...I'm becoming a nationalist. My zombies are quite aggressive but they are more like ghosts...you can hardly see them.
I think the viewer will then be able to fantasize more and create more monsters in his mind.
L: Can you reveal more about your episode?
DOMIZIANO C.: Well, look I don't believe in novelty... everything is new and everything becomes new again... in the zombie theme then it's really hard to invent something. Let's say. E.N.D. I see it closer to O'Bannon's Return of the Living Dead than to other films.
L: What do you expect from E.N.D. - The Movie?
DOMIZIANO C.: A lot of fun, a lot of visibility and the spreading of a message: unity is strength and ideas can become reality if you believe in them all the way. To the point of giving them physical life and not just in dreams.
[divider]
We conclude the interview with some questions to Federico Greco (Road to L - The Mystery of Lovecraft, Liver, Nuit Americhèn, Angelika), the director of the concluding expisode, "Z-Sapiens“.
L: Hi Federico. In our interview in May, you had already revealed to us that E.N.D. would be the first episode of a feature film composed of three segments. How did the collaboration with Domiziano Cristopharo come about?
FEDERICO G.: Domiziano and I have known each other for a few years because we have tried to collaborate before and finally succeeded with "E.N.D. - The Movie." We wanted to make a zombie feature film and we thought "E.N.D." would be perfect as the first chapter about the beginning of a planetary epidemic. We were stimulated by the challenge of tackling a story and aesthetic that none of us had ever tackled, because in fact the first chapter, shot more than three of years ago, shows very little of zombies and when it does it tells them at a stage that is still too immature to coincide with the imagery we are all used to. Actually, even in the third chapter we did not want to stay in the aesthetic cliché of the zombie, and I had some fun playing with it. Just as I played with the genre itself. "Z-Sapiens" in fact is a horror film tinged with shades of comedy. A bit like my previous work, "Nuit Americhèn."
L: Z-Sapiens is the title of the third episode you directed. The title for example arouses a lot of curiosity, and from what emerges from the plot, the actions of the main characters seem to be driven by the basest instincts. Can you reveal anything about it?
FEDERICO G.: The question is, what if zombies, several years after the outbreak began, were "evolved," not just technologically? What if humans, speculatively, had "evolved"? One of the most interesting things, for me, was trying to figure out what would have happened to some of the characters who were friends in the first chapter if they had followed different paths and destinies in this regard. And if circumstances had divided them or even pitted them against each other. The starting subject of "Z-Sapiens," by Roberto Papi, was perfect as a basis for this reflection, and with Luca Alessandro and Roberto himself we developed it to the most extreme consequences.
L: The zombie is the most exploited figure in genre cinema but I think it still has a lot to say in your project. The use of badly cut cocaine as the cause of contagion is an exceptional idea as well as very unique. How did the idea of using drugs as a means of spreading the epidemic come about?
FEDERICO G.: That's exactly the challenge: to try to go beyond the classic patterns of the genre and at the same time maintain the effectiveness and tension proper to a zombie-movie. The idea of Cocaine was born during writing meetings with my Cineteatro students (Allegra Bernardoni and Luca Alessandro), of which "E.N.D.," the first episode, was the end-of-year product. We were looking for a dissemination tool that was at once original, critical and ironic. That a planetary epidemic is spread through cocaine implicitly denounces that cocaine is much more widespread than people would have us believe and in addition implies that the vector is also something else, even more widespread: money.
L: What makes E.N.D. - The Movie different from the rest of the zombie filmography? What should zombie-movie fanatics expect?
FEDERICO G.: First, the narrative structure, which unfolds over a very long time span. Then the attention to the characters and the writing, attention that is unfortunately not taken for granted in a horror product. And finally - as I said - the attempt to go beyond the classic zombie aesthetic by overturning clichés.
L: When and how will E.N.D. - The Movie see the light of day?
FEDERICO G.: It is still too early to say, but we have seen some interest, and we are looking at some hypotheses-even international ones-that seem very appealing.
[divider]
DarkVeins thanks Federico Greco, Domiziano Cristopharo, Luca Alessandro and Allegra Bernardoni for their availability.
Here is an Italian film that rocks!