Chlorophyll, the feature debut of Italian director Ivana Gloria, played in the Proxima Competition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
The film centres on a young woman Maia, whose hair and blood are naturally green, and who finds herself inexplicably and constantly drawn to seek a direct contact with nature, trees and flowers.
Chlorophyll is written by Marco Borromei, whose credits include hit Italian drama Skam Italia. It stars Sarah Short and Michele Ragno and is produced by Italy’s Albedo Production and DO Consulting & Production.
Gloria is a Rome-based director, cinematographer, animator and storyboard artist. Her 2022 short Con Il Piede Giusto won multiple awards at the 48 Hour Film Project in Film Palooza in Los Angeles. She’s been the assistant director to Floria Sigismondi for many advertising campaigns.
How did you come to direct Chlorophyll?
In September 2021, I was talking with Marco Borrome, the screenwriter. He had just finished his script, and the production company were looking for a director. I asked him to send it to me, and when I read it, it gave me the goosebumps - I felt the script fitted my experience so much. I said I would like to direct it and then met the producers a week later. A week after that, we were applying for funding – and got it four months later.
Tell us about the themes of the film?
I like to pitch the movie as being about a girl who finds her real nature through the call of nature. It is about finding your own identity. Don’t be afraid to be who you are, and let go of the fear of change. There are a lot of moments in the movie where you can feel this fear through sounds, for instance, or through the frozen looks that Maia gives from the window when nature is calling her.
The production design and the sound design are a really important part of the film. What were you trying to achieve with them?
In many ways, it’s a three dimensional movie. In terms of the sound, I really wanted to make it like an experience so you feel the place through the sound. The production design is another strong aspect I focused on. We shot in Sardinia, but I didn’t want it to give specific Italian or Sardinian connotations, but a more universal, broad look. With that in mind, I was super picky - even down to the boxes they were carrying at the market [so that they didn’t look specifically Italian].
The colours are very strong too, from the plants, to Maia’s blue eyes and green hair, to the spring dance at the fiesta.
We created this spring dance with the colours from the queer [rainbow] flag. That’s the moment she reveals herself. She dances, loses control and shows who she is for the first time. I chose these colours because there are different type of identities…and you have to accept it at some point. Sometimes, growing up in school, I especially remember this feeling of wanting to belong or to stick to what others were doing. But it’s a struggle, because it complicates yourself and doesn’t let you be free.
Casting must have been very important too?
I remember the first time I saw Sarah Short, the main actress. It was through a self-tape. Her way of talking was with a lot of irony, with this very light way of being. For me, this irony was hiding something else. I really like that. And then we randomly met at her agency’s Christmas party and I recognised her. We connected, and the day after we just randomly rehearsed a couple of scene in the park. A lot of people ask me, if she used contact lenses [for her blue eyes]. But no, these eyes are for real.
What was the shoot like?
It was a four-week shoot. In the film, it seems like it’s in one location but they were actually separate, so it was a big struggle to fit everything in this short time. We had to be very fast - every decision was made very instinctively. We also had a weather problem – there was so much rain, we almost thought we might have to stop the movie.
What’s what next for you?
I’m working on a few different projects. Right now, cinema in Italy is having a hard time because the tax credit has been blocked for a while. Nobody’s working. Just a few key production are shooting. I’m writing a very fun project and I have this short film that I’ve just shot with DoP Luca Bigazzi [who works regularly with Paolo Sorrentino] about a cinema in my hometown that opened in 1929 and is about to close.
No comments yet