Anna Boronea is the director and producer of the short film ‘The Time Between Us’ and the writer and director of ‘For Better or Worse’, which won best drama at the Novella Film Festival. Stefano Moscone is the director and writer of ‘Il Capolavoro’ and ‘Non Esattamente Ken Loach’, both of which received a global distribution. Their recent collaboration, titled ‘The Oracle’ was screened as part of Shorts on Tap’s Body of Work event at London’s Rich Mix last week. We had the opportunity to speak to the filmmakers regarding their work and aspirations.
Anna and Stefano, Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi magazine. Please tell us more about yourselves.
My name is Anna Boronea. I’m a Romanian director and producer and I’ve been living in London since 2019, where I studied filmmaking at the Met Film School. And now I’m working as a virtual production coordinator at Garden Studios.
I’m Stefano Moscone, I’m an Italian filmmaker and I moved to London in 2019 for an MA in Film and Television production at Met Film School. For the past two years, I’ve been working predominantly in advertising, but my main focus is narrative. That’s why I keep making short films and I would like to move into feature films.
Your collaborative project ‘The Oracle ‘ just screened at Rich Mix London as part of the Short On Tap event. Do you want to tell us more about your project?
Stefano: Our idea was to portray AI as an all-knowing Oracle, who lives in a surreal space, a sort of liminal space where it’s not even aware that it’s being held captive. We wanted to visually depict how AI generates answers to people’s questions. We blended some of our passions, which are sci-fi and surreal elements with mythology. The Oracle, in Greek mythology, was the connection between gods and mortals. We thought that an AI model, metaphorically, could have the same role.
Anna: As people who work in a creative industry, we see the impact of AI in a different way. Obviously, it has both a fascinating and a terrifying edge. We wanted to touch also on the topic of AI consciousness and what that narrative might look like. In this film, we wanted to give clues to the audience, but let them connect the dots by themselves.
AI, as every innovation in human history, has a dual nature – and it’s up to us how we use it.
What pushes you to be a storyteller?
Stefano: I remember moments with my grandma, being fascinated by her telling stories and being fully immersed in this imaginary world. I think, subconsciously, I love stories that teleport you to a different space and time. I want to be that person who creates films to make other people feel the way I felt.
Anna: I like making films that have an emotional impact on the audience, films that are thought-provoking and that spark conversations. I love the feeling when you’ve seen a movie, and then you keep thinking about it for a while. That’s something that pushes me to make films, as well as the process in itself and its collaborative nature.
Who were your early influencers and how did they impact your career?
Stefano: Do you remember what Sorrentino said when he won the Oscar? He said that he wanted to thank Maradona. So, obviously, I’m not winning any Oscars, but my inspiration when I was a teenager was Cristiano Ronaldo. His mentality pushed me forward when nobody had faith in me, when I wanted to be a filmmaker. Growing up in a village of 500 inhabitants and moving to London, nobody believed in what I was trying to chase, apart from my parents. I think growing up looking at him losing and then standing up winning and proving everybody wrong time and time again, I found his dedication very inspiring. I still do have the ‘never give up approach’; I know that failure is just a step before a win.
Anna: The first filmmaker that I remember being impressed by was David Fincher, because of how meticulous his filmmaking style is. The way he uses VFX as well is very unique. I also like Andrei Tarkovsky, he has a very meditative and spiritual approach to filmmaking. I am a huge fan of Fellini because of his surreal style, which is something that I incorporate in all of my films. There is a bit of magical realism in all of them.
What project you are most proud of?
Anna: From a technical point of view, my proudest work so far is ‘The Oracle’, but I’m also very connected with ‘For Better or Worse’ (above) in terms of story and the inspiration behind it. ‘For Better or Worse’ is inspired by real events that happened to a close friend of mine and I did my best to depict it in a truthful and sensible way.
Stefano: I would say ‘The Oracle’ too. It is a project that artistically reflects us very well and also because we really achieved what we had in mind. I am very proud of ‘Il Capolavoro’ as well. It was a tough project, from the writing process to the difficulties posed by filming in just one room. Also, it represents a milestone because it was the end of my student career.
What advice would you give to an emerging filmmaker?
Stefano: I know it might sound very cliché, but the secret is to keep making stuff. The more you make, the more you learn. It’s a way of putting your doubts behind you – if you’re good enough, if people understand you, or if the idea is working or not – you can only know if you make it. Otherwise, it just going to stay in your head. Try to create as many connections as possible with people you think are ahead of you or you admire. Maybe just text them on Instagram, it’s easy. People are nice, and filmmakers are human beings too, we just love meeting new people. If I could go back, I would probably be more open when I was younger.
Anna: I completely agree with Stefano: try to put yourself out there and learn from people who know more than you, as they will push you to do better and try new things. Even if stepping out of your comfort zone might be difficult, it’s great to seek a community of filmmakers; something that Shorts On Tap did excellently. The festival is non-competitive, which it creates the right context for artists to be themselves and get to connect with each other through their work.
We always talk about awards, acclaimed movies, and selected films in festivals but we never talk about how many rejected films we received and how hard is to be a filmmaker. Was there a period of time that you wanted to give up?
Stefano: As a filmmaker, the word you hear the most is no: “No”, you’re not selected, or “No”, you’re not what are looking for, or “No”, it’s not the right moment. The fact that you’re going to receive more rejection than appreciation is tough. But I think every rejection can motivate you to keep going until you find your own voice.
Anna: I think we’ve all faced difficult moments in our careers, especially in the last year, considering the whole industry context. But something that helps me is to remind myself why I’m making films: to create that connection between the story and the audience.
Are there any projects in the pipeline?
Anna: Yes, we have a short movie in post-production, called ‘In Depth’. I am the producer and Stefano is the writer and director. It is fully shot on green screen and we collaborated with over 30 students from Escape Studios for it. It’s something we have never done before, so it’s a big challenge for us. The film is about racism and terrorism, and how the news changes our perception of people. We started the project over a year ago, and it’s sad to say the main themes are still relevant nowadays. I think it holds a very powerful and thought-provoking message that hopefully will ignite wider conversations.
Stefano: I am directing another short film in Turin, called ‘Al Termine della Notte’ and it follows a little girl, walking through a dystopian and futuristic city in search of her parents with the goal of bringing them back together. It is made by the same production company as ‘Il Capolavoro’ and “Non Esattamente Ken Loach”, namely NewGen Entertainment.
You can follow the artists via the links below:
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