Slamdance / Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival 2019 – EGG
A woman is locked in her home with an egg. She eats the egg. She repents. She kills it. She lets the egg die of hunger.
Interview with Director Martina Scarpelli
Watch Egg here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I thought it was an exciting thing to do. An exciting story to tell.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You will get to see and think about a simple gesture like eating, in a very new angle.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Egg is a film about a small moment of my own life, a moment of shame and yet of victory, the moment I had to eat an egg. It is personal, very intimate, but symbolic as well. You can see in the egg whatever you feel like.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I wrote the first draft of VO when I was still in school at the Experimental Center of Cinematography in Italy, during a workshop. Since I felt very uncomfortable reading it to others, the first draft of the film was very abstract and really heavy. I always wanted the film to be extremely clean and slightly disgusting, so I "cleaned it", I got rid of a lot of unnecessary things. The story never really changed but the staging of it did. Also, time made me realize, that if I was making a film about this story I couldn't be protective...I had to go for it. So, it is still uncanny and quite disturbing, but it became more personal, less serious, and a bit silly.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People generally appreciate the film. I have been sitting in the audience a few times. Maybe because the film is so silent and intimate I think people get really uncomfortable watching, but it is 12 minutes in a cinema when you barely hear anyone moving. Sometimes I meet viewers who don’t understand it at all, they think it is not made for them to watch. It is not a lot but mainly males I have to say, and it is because I used strong female metaphors to portray a certain feeling.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’d like the film to be seen by as many people as possible.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'd like broadcasters to see Egg hoping that some of them will program short films at more TV channels. It is hard to finance animated shorts, and I think there is a gap in the distribution of animated short films, especially when it is animation for adults. I 'd like festival directors to get it out from the traditional animation circuit, and reach to those who don't attend animation venues.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Happy to see any kind of reaction. As long as there is one.
Would you like to add anything else?
Thanks for the opportunity!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am working on an animated opera, for cinemas and theatres, with live singing, live music and animated actors. It will be epic, baroque, and extremely silly.
Interview: January 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
EGG
A woman is locked in her home with an egg. She eats the egg. She repents. She kills it. She lets the egg die of hunger.
Length: 12:07
Director: Martina Scarpelli
Producer: Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Lana Tankosa Nikolic
Writer: Martina Scarpelli
About the writer, director and producer:
MARTINA SCARPELLI is an Italian film maker with a bachelor in Fine Art from “Accademy of Brera” in Milano, and a bachelor in Animation from “Experimental Cinematography Center” in Turin. She is now based in Denmark working on short films and art projects.
Looking for: film festival directors, buyers, journalists
Facebook: EGG
Twitter: @scamarti
Instagram: @scrmtn
Website: www.martinascarpelli.com
Funders: CNC, France Television, Western Danish Fund, Anidox Residency, Danish Film Institute
Made in association with: Miyu Productions, Late Love Production