05/04/2022 - The director spoke to us about the filmmaking process behind her debut feature film, which was wholly shot in Naples’ Spanish Quarters

Screened during this year’s CPH:DOX, Victoria Fiore’s feature film debut, the Italian-British co-production Hide and Seek [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victoria Fiore
film profile], recounts the harsh day-to-day life of Entoni, who has just turned twelve at the beginning of the film and who lives in Naples’ Spanish Quarters. We jumped at the opportunity to interview the director, so as to discuss the lengthy production process involved in her project and the intense emotional journey she experienced, working in close contact with a family living on the fringes of Neapolitan society.

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Cineuropa: When and how did you begin work on this project?
Victoria Fiore: It’s hard to pin down the exact moment I started work on this project, because it all happened very spontaneously. I was hosting a film workshop. A social worker from the Spanish Quarters Association, who’s also a friend of mine, Eleonora Dell’Aquila, showed me videos of children describing Naples using expressions typically associated with this area, and these children asked me to film the “cippo” [the annual St. Anthony celebrations organised by the Quarters]. We involved them in the project, we gave them GoPro cameras and we asked them to tell us about this tradition. This would become our early material, which we then used to develop Hide and Seek. It was through this experience that I met Entoni. He took a particular interest in the camera. He wanted to shoot Titanic on the beach with his cousin and talk to us about his dreams and his neighbourhood. He showed real creativity. Then we met Dora [Addolorata, Entoni’s grandma], who really liked what we were doing. She invited me round for a coffee, asking me who I was and what exactly I was doing. To begin with, she didn’t want to be filmed. […] Over time, Addolorata was happy for us to film her more and more [freely]. It was a long four-year journey.

Were you faced with any technical difficulties?
80% of the time, my director of photography [Alfredo De Juan] and I were the ones doing the shooting. The spaces involved were tiny, and it turned out to be an excellent decision to film in these, because it allowed us to maintain a sense of intimacy with our subjects. We didn’t work according to set time limits. Everything had to be totally improvised, always. This was probably the hardest thing to manage. On the other hand, it worked well for us, because it meant we could shoot a reality which felt more “alive”. It’s difficult following daily life in the Quarters.

Has the family seen the film? How did they react?
The first ones to see the film were the lawyer and the social worker. Then Dora saw it. Before showing her the film, I showed her the entire script and I also spoke to the whole family, so that they more or less knew what to expect. Dora really liked it. Then we showed it to all the others. Right from the outset, Natalia [Entoni’s mother] hugged me and we cried together. She thanked us for telling an authentic story. Gaetano [Entoni’s younger brother] also liked it. We want to bring it to Naples in June. It’s part of our plan.

How did you go about working with the film’s composer, CJ Mirra?
We worked together a lot. Naples is a claustrophobic place where there’s not a single second of silence. I didn’t expect to create the “musical party” effect within the film. To begin with, we wanted an electronica-based soundtrack because Naples is modern, cinematic and many other things. When I heard CJ Mirra’s sound work, with its almost “liminal” quality, I really liked it. It falls halfway between music and sound design, between melody and ambient music. It’s the kind of music which touches your soul without being too intrusive. And the story seems so real it can’t be true, if that makes sense…

Yes, as a viewer it felt like I was watching a very realistic yet fictional film.
We wanted to lend it this fictional aspect, almost beyond reality. The music helps to transport us into this world which is no longer a documentary - it goes beyond that.

How did the experience change you as a human being?
The process of making a film is definitely an incredibly intense one, and it changes many things. It’s hard not to become cynical, it’s a struggle. Sometimes things happen right in front of your eyes which make you want to give up hope. It’s naïve to make a documentary thinking that you’re going to change things. But it was important to be there for the entire process and to accompany the characters to the very end, offering them the necessary support. It’s definitely a fortifying experience.

What will your next project be?
I’m writing a fiction feature film based on a true story, which is set in northern Italy and goes by the name of Aida.

(Translated from Italian)