Tiziana Finzi, the Deputy Director of the International Film Festival of Locarno, talks about the industry, animations, the cinema then, and the cinema now.


F.A: As the chief programmer of the International Film Festival of Locarno, do you have any suggestions for the young filmmakers who are submitting their works to festivals for the first time?

T.F: During my long career, I have met many young filmmakers, whose enthusiasm and determination gave them the strength to complete a film even in such great difficulties, such as financial limitations, meeting with producers, registering for film festivals, and finally distribution.

What I noticed was that the filmmakers didn’t mind the critics, but only the opinion of the public itself.

Here are three suggestions about succeeding in the film industry:

• I suggest all young filmmakers to study the basics of filmmaking in order to develop their ideas, sensibility, and creativity.
• The film industry is a difficult environment to be in, and succeeding requires a lot of talent, determination, and some luck.
• If you’re not sure about yourself and your work, the best thing to do is to put that particular project on hold and focus on developing other projects instead.

Within the past years, very few of the filmmakers I’ve met were able to make it into the International Film Festival Circuit.


F.A: What are your opinions on the progressive cinema in today’s world, such as animations, manga cartoons, etc.?

T.F: During the peak years of Animation and Manga Cartoons, we witnessed great technological developments. Today, you can produce a film with a very small team, a high-definition camera, a number of tapes, and a good editing program on a good computer. This certainly increased the number of films being produced, but not necessarily the quality of the films. For the quality of a film still depends on the qualities of the filmmaker.

On the other side of the screen, the already established filmmakers and major studios took advantage of the technological developments. What we had in front of us was highly improved special effects and graphics along with a large variety of animations.

Just think of a young company like Pixar that produced so many successful animations for kids and adults (i.e. Cars, Finding Nemo, Toys, The Incredibles, Rataouille) in a span just a few years.

The Japanese Manga is in continuous growth and is always ahead in technology and graphics. It has spread all over the world and has the ability to captivate a three-year old as well as an adult. The success of Manga is also evident in its widespread popularity in American and European channels.


F.A: Do you see a linear progression in contemporary cinema, or does cinema surprise us with unexpected novelties and new expressions?

T.F: I believe that classics in genres such as romance, action, and adventure with great actors will always attract people to cinema. However, I am also a supporter of the “new cinema” that is contemporary, universal, and very similar all around from Hong Kong to New York, from Rome to London, from Paris to Buenos Aires. I call this new cinema “Contemporary Neo Neo-Realism,” made of real stories, acted out by non-professional actors, narrating the present condition of our world in its best and its worst. In fact, these are the films that win the top prizes in International Film Festivals, for these films interpret our own lives.


F.A: What do you think about the new methods of distribution, such as online distribution and web cinema? Do these new methods support the filmmaker in his/her self-expression?

T.F: Yes, for sure. The world has changed: I can purchase music online when I want, I can buy whatever I wish from the web. This is the most direct way to discover new things, find information, read, and watch. So why not purchase a film? I can also do this on Cable, but a computer is more comfortable to use, more affordable, reaches to a wider audience, and will grant a global exposure to the filmmaker. The internet presents the more “difficult to watch” cinema to the younger generation who considers the internet and computers an essential factor in their lives.

Interview by Eren Gulfidan - www.filmannex.com/Eren%20Gulfidan

For the Italian version, please visit www.filmannex.com/posts/blog_show_post/intervista-con-tiziana-finzi-il-delegato-direttore-del-film-festival-internazionale-di-locarno/452