Giorgio Guernier is a young Italian filmmaker to look out for. A history graduate, with a Master’s degree in screenwriting, he moved to London in 2012. His first film, titled ‘Suburban Steps to Rockland’, tells the story of the Ealing Club, Britain’s first Rhythm and Blues club. The film has garnered much recognition from music lovers. His latest project is equally alluring as it provides a generational portrait of creative Londoners. We caught up with Giorgio to discuss his career, film company, and projects.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your career to date. How did you get into the industry and were you always destined for a career in filmmaking?
When I was a kid, I wanted to become an interior designer. I think I might have been eight or ten. I would spend hours drawing living rooms and kitchens adorned with nice furniture. Many years later, here I am, co-producing an art house feature film about Carlo Scarpa, a visionary architect, and designer. So I suppose it all makes sense now.
In between these two particular endeavors, I, chronologically, discovered punk rock and played in bands, got a BA degree in history and politics, an MA degree in screenwriting, moved to Hamburg and learned German, mastered my cooking skills, read hundreds of books, watched thousands of movies and eventually directed two feature films.
Who are your biggest industry influences, and why?
I like cinema. I love all sorts of movies, but, more than anything else, I like realism and, even more, I love the work of humanist filmmakers. From Robert Bresson and Ermanno Olmi up to the Dardenne Brothers and Celine Sciamma. But I’m also very much into music, painting, literature, and architecture. It’s probably quite healthy to be tried and inspired by artists operating outside your own field.
We first spoke to you regarding your film ‘Suburban Steps to Rockland’-a documentary that tells the story of the Ealing Club, Britain’s first Rhythm and Blues club. Please share your experience working on this project.
I have always been a music fan and when I moved to Ealing and heard about the story of the Ealing Club, I immediately decided to make a movie about it. Did I have an idea about how to make a feature documentary on a story set in the 1960s? Obviously not, but I grew up listening to punk rock and I was part of a scene. The whole experience taught me that even if you don’t know how to do something, you will figure it out while working on it. So, together with a friend and a little camera, I went out and started filming.
Then I showed the rushes to the people at the Ealing Club Community Interest Company, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting West London’s music heritage. They joined the production with some initial funds. Five years later, the film premiered at the Barbican as part of the London Rock’n’Roll Film Festival to a sold-out audience. It was then presented at several other film festivals and picked up by Sky. It made it into the Belgian National TV on prime time and it was broadcast also in Ireland, New Zealand, Holland, and Estonia. It’s now out in the US and Japan with a different title (British Rock: Born In A Basement).
The Japanese distributor put together a small theatrical release and has the most incredible catalog – it’s an honor to be part of it: https://copiapoafilm.com/films.htm
How much of an impact has the film had on your career as a documentary filmmaker?
Not as much as I thought it would be or hoped for, it’s tough working in film. I’m not strictly a documentary filmmaker, by the way.
Your latest project, titled ‘Never A Master Plan ‘’ is currently doing the festival circuit. Please tell us more about the production, and what audiences can expect.
‘Never A Master Plan’ ,my drama debut, has been made on a minuscule budget following a strict DIY procedure. It is a film about a group of young artists living in London. More specifically, it consists of a series of interconnected vignettes that aim to offer a generational portrait of creative Londoners. There are also appearances from underground music legends such as Mike Watt and Vashti Bunyan. The soundtrack includes songs from Big Boys, The Dils, Kikagaku Mojo, and La Quiete. Most of the dialogue is improvised by the actors and the style is purely observational, the classic fly-on-the-wall type of thing. If you are into small cinema vérité flicks, maybe you want to check it out, there will be a few London screenings in May:
19 May @ Rio Cinema (Dalston Kingsland): https://riocinema.org.uk/movie/docn-roll-presents-never-a-master-plan-world-premiere-qa
24 May @ Ealing Project (Ealing): https://ealingproject.co.uk/whats-on/never-a-master-plan/
What other projects are you currently working on?
Through my British film company Pop Homage, I’m co-producing an art house feature documentary on Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. It’s called ‘The Pavilion On The Water’ and it’s currently in post-production. The main producer is called Caucaso, a film production company from Bologna, Italy. It’s run by three dear friends, true artists who read Il Manifesto and make movies inspired by the work of certain European filmmakers like, say, Chris Marker, Werner Herzog, and Jean Rouch. The film is mainly funded through European and Italian public funds and the editor is Paolo Cottignola, who won a lot of awards with Ermanno Olmi and Giorgio Diritti and recently edited Hidden Away (awarded at the Berlin Film Festival 2020).
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects? Note: please provide website and social media links.
www.62films.com or maybe facebook.com/SixtyTwoFilms. Or Maybe: caucaso.info. One day I will have my own website.
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