Samantha Casella | Interview
CCMA : What initially sparked your passion for filmmaking?
Samantha : Cinema conquered me on a specific day: a film by Ingmar Bergman, "Winter Lights", was broadcast on TV. I was a child and Bergman marked my growth.
CCMA : How do you approach securing funding for your independent projects?
Samantha : I feel very lucky. The Shadows Factory is a small production, but it guarantees me the conditions to realize my projects.
CCMA : What strategies do you utilize to get your films seen by a wider audience?
Samantha : I consider my films as my children. You must help your child to have a dignified life. You have to be aware that he has flaws, but you have to try to highlight his qualities. Whether few or many. The same thing goes for a film. A film must be followed in promotion, at festivals, in screenings.
CCMA : How do you leverage social media and online platforms to connect with your audience?
Samantha : Social media is a strange world. Honestly, I don't know how much they can help. Platforms are a reality. I'm happy that "Santa Guerra" has found its own little space on Amazon Prime.
CCMA : What are some of the most valuable lessons you've learned in your filmmaking journey so far?
Samantha : I don't know, I hope I learned a lot of things. One thing is that independent cinema and official cinema, so to speak, follow two different paths, on different tracks. And they are paths that are very difficult for them to intertwine.
There is no right or wrong way. There is your way. You just have to choose.
CCMA : Are you currently working on any new projects you'd like to share about?
Samantha : The post-production of my new film, “Katabasis”, has just finished. It is a movie full of hallucinations, ghosts, nudity, blood, drugs, milk, infernal places, toxic relationships, sick loves. The protagonist is a woman who is the victim of childhood abuse. An abuse that she doesn't remember about her and that has made her an indecipherable, ambiguous woman. She is a woman who has set herself to survive at any cost.
CCMA : In your opinion, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing independent cinema today?
Samantha : The opportunity is enormous: making films in complete freedom from any system. The challenge is to grow in quality, more and more. To have courage, to take risks.
CCMA : How do you plan to adapt your approach to distribution as new technologies emerge?
Samantha : I don't know at the moment. Honestly, I'm not even afraid of artificial intelligence. I'm afraid of no longer having ideas, of no longer having the strength, the health, to continue along this path. I will adapt to new technologies, somehow!
