The Italian professional talks about why producing documentaries is resistance in the truest sense of the word

An interview with Matteo Pecorara, producer for Italian company Small Boss, now selected for the 2024 Emerging Producers programme. Read his EP profile here.

Why do you produce documentaries? Do you see documentary cinema as an instrument of social and political change?
Matteo Pecorara: I started producing documentaries partly by accident, partly by friendship, partly by luck. Now I produce them because I find the production process behind each documentary fascinating. From the idea through the first pitches to the struggles to get funding, as time passes and the urgency of the story forces you to throw your heart over the hurdle again and again. Producing documentaries is resistance in the truest sense of the word, both because it is not easy to survive the changes of a market that wants products that are more and more uniform and homogeneous, but also because it allows those who do not give up to produce stories of resistance, rebellion and discovery that have the power to move great emotions, no matter where they come from.

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How do you achieve and maintain work-life balance and foster overall well-being?
Working from home. There's no better way to describe how I maintain a work-life balance. As far as maintaining my overall well-being, I just get up, take a moment for myself, and start cooking.

Where do you find audiences for your films?
If I had a magic formula, or if someone had one and wanted to share it with me, it would be easy to answer this question. Let's say that we find the audience little by little as the film grows, as we take it to different markets, and talk to other professionals in the field or compare ourselves with the realities that are most touched by the subject of the documentary.

What projects do you have underway (including fiction films and other projects)?
Our next documentary, The Tirana Conspiracy, by Manfredi Lucibellio, about one of the most daring and unknown hoaxes in the contemporary art world, will be released after the summer. We also begin post-production on The Broken R, by Ricardo Ruales, a documentary co-produced with Incubadora Proyect (Ecuador) that we hope to premiere in 2025. Finally, we have just presented at Cartoon Movie the teaser of our first animation project, The Treasure Of The Wyrm, by Francesco Vecchi, a stop-motion feature film in co-production with XBO Films (France), Doruntina (Italy) and Maur Film (Czech Republic).

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EMERGING PRODUCERS is a leading promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the EMERGING PRODUCERS 2025 edition is 31st March 2024.