Tiziano Cella, Italian actor and director, gave us an interesting interview in which he talks about his short films Damn Cuba, Imago Vocis and Temple Mount. A more detailed discussion instead for the thriller Subject 0: Shattered Memories, his first feature film. Tiziano Cella has remained imprinted for his extraordinary and twisted character played in the disturbing Doll Syndrome By Domitian Christopharo.
L: Hi Titian, tell us a little bit about yourself.
T: Talking about yourself I think is the most difficult thing to do especially during an interview. It is not easy to be able to analyze yourself from the outside with a critical and objective eye. I can describe myself based on what the people closest to me say: I am very serious but sometimes crazy, very stubborn but not always, I am a 100% sportsman, I could die without it. Artistically, on the other hand, I am a tireless worker and always ready to take risks, always focused and available, for me work becomes more important than everything and everyone even myself.
L: You are a director but also an actor. What do you enjoy doing more, directing or acting? How did your passion for filmmaking come about?
T: I honestly don't know what I like to do more, it's nice to be able to create worlds and stories and characters and spin it all around, but also being a character is very exciting, to be able to be another person without taking the risks of real life and without feeling the burden of responsibility and one's choices because every action is already premeditated. Why do I have to choose? I can be both a director and an actor, I'm fine with that. When I was a teenager for me the movie theater was the coolest place that existed. To forget one's reality and immerse oneself in another without being harmed, there was only to be gained. Then as I grew older I began to feel the need to be the creator of the story and later also to immerse myself in it. Years passed and here we are at my first long as Director and Actor "Subject 0: ShatteredMemories", after several short films, video clips and a wonderful lead collaboration with Domiziano Cristopharo in his Doll Syndrome.
L: Your record on IMDB lists as your first film work a short comedy genre film, Damn Cuba. What then pushed you toward the thriller with Imago Vocis and toward action/sci-fi with Temple Mount?
T: I started with a comedy because it seemed like the most fun genre as a first approach to filmmaking, in fact Damn Cuba is my first job ever, I had zero experience, little knowledge of the set and zero budget. I told myself, "If I make a disaster at least I will have a funny memory of this experience." For me comedy has to make people laugh and entertain, I don't like comedies with a bitter aftertaste. I switched to thrillers with Imago vocis because it's a genre that I love, the same goes for Temple Mount Which is an Action-Sci-fi. another genre that I love very much. Most of the films I study are Thriller, Sci-fi, Horror and Action, unfortunately I have not yet managed to make a pure Action film nor purely Horror. "Subject 0: ShatteredMemories" has some very interesting Horror elements but it is basically a Thriller. I hope to fix that in the future, at the moment I'm writing a Horror Fantasy film and we'll see what happens. It's also true that in the end I try to study all existing genres of cinema because passion has no limits and I also try to find ways to be able to always make films of different genres.
L: In addition to directing and starring in your films, you have also been involved in scriptwriting your projects. The biggest difficulties you encountered?
T: Screenwriting is very complex especially if you have to take into account your budget. If I write my own project, I write it according to the budget that I have or that is given to me by the production because I hate to write freely and then have to cut a thousand scenes because of an insufficient budget, it's really wearisome to have to cut and stitch. The biggest difficulties as far as I'm concerned are not ideas, I have millions of ideas, the real problem is figuring out what you can really accomplish with the budget you have. Honestly, it is true that the idea is enough to make a film, but it is also true that many ideas without money cannot be realized. A film is a scale.
L: The thriller "Subject 0: Shattered Memories" is your first feature film. Can you tell us about this new project of yours for which you are the writer, director, actor and also producer?
T: I am director, screenwriter, actor but not producer but executive producer so I managed the budget but not produced the film, I did not put my own money into it, fortunately Domenico Barilari's Media Dab took care of that. The film is a Thriller in which I incorporated Horror, Action, Sci-fi and Comedy elements. Because my goal is to make the perfect film, that is, not the technically perfect film but the film that everyone likes, no one excluded. Of course it is no small feat, but you have to give yourself high goals if you want to improve day by day. The film is about the question: Technology equals Control over the masses, but in this case it is very extreme and fictionalized. I used a cast of very good and very different actors, I had a lot of fun in writing with Roberto Del Piccolo and David White to create many characters that intertwine with each other against a background of intrigue and betrayal.
L: What was your inspiration for the story? Can you reveal part of the plot of the film and sketch out the character you play?
T: The story is very complex because within it there are mini-stories that intertwine and live in parallel with the central story that is centered not only on Joshua Merlo, the character I play, who is very mysterious, sometimes head-in-the-clouds and very physical. To reveal part of the plot might detract from some of the twists and turns of the film I can say that there is no shortage of blood, nudity, violence, intrigue and betrayal not to mention investigation. It is all very subtle, never predictable nor vulgar. And well balanced.
L: To whom would you recommend Subject 0: ShatteredMemories?
T: To Thriller lovers for sure, but as mentioned above, those who love Horror and Sci-fi will find very interesting and never trivial scenes, it is definitely not for Comedy lovers although seeing it there are scenes where you can laugh heartily and smile thanks to the irony and sarcasm. It is a film for all age groups ranging from 14 and up. If one is too impressionable it might be annoying at some moments. Let's say it is all very well calibrated so that everyone or almost everyone can watch it without experiencing annoyance or boredom.
L: Which of your works are you most satisfied with?
T: Of "Subject 0: ShatteredMemories" without a doubt, it was hard work but very satisfying. I was present and focused in all departments and phases of work, truly a great challenge. As an actor though Doll Syndrome excited me the most, there was really remarkable work on my character, I was able to do everything that an actor could never do. We're talking about Nymphomaniac, Fifty Shades of Grey, movies I've seen, and believe me I don't want to sound egocentric or conceited because I'm not, but the actors didn't do what I do in Doll Syndrome. I'm a level way above them, and yet they're world-class actors who I adore by the way, but if you can see Doll Syndrome you'll understand that they don't hold a candle to that and that my exaggerations are not exaggerations.
L: You are indeed the lead actor in Domiziano Cristopharo's unhealthy and shocking Doll Syndrome. How did the collaboration with the director come about?
T: Domiziano found me on Facebook and wrote to me that he had seen Imago Vocis, one of my short films and that he fell in love with it, and from there we started talking about filmmaking and we hit it off right away. Then at the time he told me about this idea he had for a film of his own and how difficult it was to find an actor up to the task for the lead role. I had done several acting jobs in that year, and I was very excited about the project from an acting point of view because it was a Titans challenge to be able to become Him, the lead in Doll Syndrome. I then decided to put myself forward and audition. Domiziano was very impressed and decided to take me for the film. This is the absolute truth!
L: The complex character you played in Doll Syndrome is a reflection of a disturbed person. What do you like most about this figure?
T: He is a character who is totally out of his mind but retains an impressive order. He's robotic, cold but really inside he's a victim, he has feelings that he can't externalize like an ordinary person. He's wonderful because there are no such characters, I don't think I've ever seen any in the movies, he's a mixture of elements really well balanced, I can't even find the right words to describe him, he's made of feelings more than words.
L: Given the nude scenes, the hard scenes, and the self-harm and fetish scenes, how did you manage to get into character? Was your role in Doll Syndrome difficult?
L: It was really very hard to be Him, I totally reconstructed Him's soul, I experienced what he experienced and it was terrifying, very painful. Many people dwell on Him's actions that are taboo and impossible for many people to perform, but that was the easy part, the real hurdle was creating this soul inside me, you have to think about everything that happened in his life to be what he is in the movie. So I had to experience moments of pain to fully understand the character and play him the best I could. We had private screenings, and when the film ended and I went into the theater to introduce myself, people were annoyed by my presence, afraid. They were convinced that I was really Him in real life. Then when they talked they realized that I am an actor and we had rich laughs, but this was very satisfying for me, it means that I have reached the acting TOP.
L: Indeed, you have fully cast yourself in the part, and the result of your acting performance is commendable.
Future projects? Is there a possibility of seeing you at work with a horror film?
T: I am writing a Fantasy Horror and hope to find an optimal budget to make it happen, maybe even include a Star... Who knows!
L: What is your relationship with the horror genre? What are your favorite titles?
T: Horror titles there are millions of them, it is a genre that film critics hate and do not understand why it is always so successful. The stories are often all the same as the characters very flat compared to other genres, yet people are always fascinated by the Horror genre. I would say that it is an immortal genre, one that I love very much and that does not allow me to identify it in a few titles, it would be an impossible task given its vastness and diversity.
L: Leave a message for the DarkVeins community and everyone reading this interview!
T: I am Titian Cella Director and Actor, I hope you enjoy this interview to the fullest and also follow me and my work on Facebook at my personal page: https://www.facebook.com/TizianoCellaOfficialPage?ref=bookmarks
Please feel free to write to me for a good chat, compared to many others I always respond to those who write to me with great pleasure. Thanks to you who followed me and to DarkVeins for the opportunity to introduce myself and the interesting interview. Hello!
L: And we thank you for your helpfulness!
