Following graduation, Edgardo embarked on a multifaceted career as a director, photographer, and screenwriter. He also took on the role of educator, teaching filmmaking to young people in the outskirts of Naples, thus nurturing the city’s next generation of filmmakers. In 2020, he was honored with the Best Director award at the 35th Venice International Film Festival for his short film “The Flies.” His impressive portfolio includes the short films “Per un’ora d’amore” (2013), “Il viaggio premio” (2017), “Le Mosche” (2019), and the feature film “Ciao Bambino” (2024). We recently had the opportunity to discuss his work and creative process
Edgardo, thanks for taking time to talk with us. Could you share your journey as a director and what motivates you to be a storyteller?
I think every director has something broken inside because they need to put together the pieces of the world to make it function. Unlike the cinematic world, the real world works differently and eludes any interpretation. My path was quite simple: since I couldn’t afford prestigious schools, I attended the Art Institute because I was interested in photography. I started watching my first films and then enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, which is not an ideal place for a director’s growth, but it does give you the opportunity to meet other directors, or aspiring ones, who want to engage with cinema, so you end up having extraordinary encounters.
You grew up in the Traiano district of Naples and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts there. How has this background influenced your film expression?
It has definitely influenced me because it’s a humanity I’ve learned to know and appreciate. I’ve learned not to judge, and that’s crucial because cinema can only be genuine when it’s not moralistic and doesn’t judge the characters it portrays.
“Per un’ora d’amore” was one of your initial projects, and it earned you an award for Best Self-Producing Short Film at the Naples Film Festival. What inspired you to create this project? What lessons did you learn from it? And how did it feel to win an award for a film that you produced yourself?
“Per un’ora d’amore” tells the story of a man who lived in my building. This film taught me to look carefully at what was around me and gave me the opportunity to express my vision on that story. The short had a remarkable success because it was a film with a strong impact, and it helped me take the first steps, even though they were quite difficult, as they still are today. I remember that the day after the award in Naples, while I was walking down the street, I received lots of compliments, but in my pocket, I still only had the 5 euros my mom had given me, and that kept me firmly grounded.
In your film “Le Mosche,” you portray a timeless adolescence in black and white, with the intention of challenging the stereotype often associated with “today’s youth.” You describe how the struggles of this phase are universal to all humans. Could you share the inspiration behind your desire to tell this story?
The need comes from the desire to confront time. For example, I find many films from the past more relevant or timely than recent ones. This led me to develop the idea that feelings are transgenerational and don’t belong solely to one generation. This was the approach that led me to tell “Le Mosche” in this way—trying to see the film as a kind of gathering of eternal feelings, rather than as a way of portraying the generations contemporary to the film.
“Ciao Bambino” is your first feature film, set in the city where you were born and raised. It won the “Best Debut Film” award at the Rome Film Festival, marking a significant milestone and realizing a dream for many directors. How do you feel about this accomplishment, and in what ways has your life experience influenced the creation of this project?
My life experience was decisive in the making of “Ciao Bambino,” because before this, I had tried to write other films, but I was told they were too intellectual or too financially difficult to produce. So, I made the bold decision to include my family, my neighborhood, my friends, all my fears, and desires in the film. I tried to challenge market rules because the average viewer—the main consumer of films—often doesn’t know that there’s a class of directors and actors operating outside the spotlight who have talent and continue making films. I hope that with “Ciao Bambino,” the average viewer might reconsider their views on lesser-known actors and directors they don’t know.
Which project are you most proud of?
Definitely my first film, “Per un’ora d’amore,” because it was my most urgent project and I recognize that it embodies love. There is a very direct connection between me and the film. While for other projects, where I needed more people to make them and more words to convince others, with “Per un’ora d’amore,” I produced it by myself. It was an idyllic condition for someone trying to make their own film because I didn’t have to convince anyone, but myself. And usually, that’s the hardest part.
What challenges have you faced in your journey as a director, and how have you overcome them?
The first lesson was learning patience—the ability to wait and not to have too many doubts in the writing phase. When you write films or propose ideas, you often find people telling you that they’re not the best projects in the world, and that can be hard because it makes you start questioning your own ideas. Patience and perseverance are the only antidotes to overcome any difficulty in the life of a young director trying to make their first film.
What advice would you give to an emerging artist looking to embark on a path as a director?
The advice I’d give to a young director is what I read in a book by Roberto Bolaño: approach everything without fear and without hope.
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