Tiziano Cella, attore e regista italiano, ci ha rilasciato un'interessante intervista in cui parla dei suoi cortometraggi 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: Ciao Tiziano, parlaci un po' di te.
T: Parlare di se stessi credo sia la cosa più difficile da fare soprattutto durante un'intervista. Non è facile saper analizzare se stessi dall’esterno con occhio critico e oggettivo. Posso descrivermi in base a quello che dicono le persone a me più vicine: sono molto serio ma a volte pazzo, molto testardo ma non sempre, sono uno sportivo al 100%, senza potrei morire. Artisticamente invece sono un lavoratore instancabile e sempre pronto a rischiare, sempre concentrato e disponibile, per me il lavoro diventa più importante di tutto e tutti anche di me stesso.
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: Sinceramente non so cosa mi piace fare di più, è bello poter creare dei mondi, delle storie e dei personaggi e far girare il tutto, ma anche essere un personaggio è molto emozionante, poter essere un'altra persona senza correre i rischi della vita reale e senza sentire il peso delle responsabilità e delle proprie scelte perché ogni azione è già premeditata. Perché dover scegliere? Posso fare sia il regista che l’attore, mi sta bene così. Quando ero un teenager per me la sala cinematografica era il luogo più figo che esistesse. Dimenticare la propria realtà ed immergersi in un'altra senza subire danni, c’era solo da guadagnare. Poi crescendo ho iniziato a sentire il bisogno di essere io il creatore della storia e successivamente anche di immergermi in questa storia. Passano gli anni ed eccoci al mio primo lungo da Regista e Attore “Subject 0: ShatteredMemories", after several short films, video clips and a wonderful lead collaboration with Domiziano Cristopharo in his Doll Syndrome.
L: La tua scheda su IMDB riporta come tuo primo lavoro cinematografico un cortometraggio di genere commedia, Maledetta Cuba. Cosa ti ha spinto poi verso il thriller con Imago Vocis e verso l'action/sci-fi con 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: Il thriller "Subject 0: Shattered Memories" è il tuo primo lungometraggio. Puoi parlarci di questo tuo nuovo progetto di cui sei sceneggiatore, regista, attore e anche produttore?
T: Sono regista, sceneggiatore, attore ma non produttore bensì produttore esecutivo quindi ho gestito il budget ma non prodotto il film, non ho messo i miei soldi a disposizione, a questo fortunatamente ci ha pensato la Media Dab di Domenico Barilari. Il film è un Thriller nel quale ho inserito elementi Horror, Action, Sci-fi e Comici. Perché il mio obiettivo è realizzare il film perfetto, ovvero non il film tecnicamente perfetto ma il film che piace a tutti, nessuno escluso. Ovvio che è un'impresa non da poco, ma bisogna darsi degli obiettivi alti se si vuole migliorare giorno dopo giorno. Il film è incentrato sulla questione: Tecnologia uguale Controllo sulla massa, in questo caso però è molto estremizzato e romanzato. Ho usato un cast di attori molto validi e molto diversi tra loro, mi sono divertito moltissimo in scrittura con Roberto Del Piccolo e David White a creare tanti personaggi che si intrecciano tra di loro su uno sfondo di intrighi e tradimenti.
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: Sei infatti l'attore protagonista del malsano e shockante Doll Syndrome di Domiziano Cristopharo. Com'è nata la collaborazione con il regista?
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: Viste le scene di nudo, quelle hard e quelle di autolesionismo e feticismo, come sei riuscito a entrare nel personaggio? E' stato difficile il tuo ruolo in Doll Syndrome?
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.
Progetti futuri? C'è la possibilità di vederti all'opera con un film horror?
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!
