Night cap with Il Muro Bianco [The White Wall]

Interview with Andrea Brusa and Marco Scotuzzi, codirectors of Il Muro Bianco [The White Wall]

How did you come across this story?
A few years ago, we read about this school in Italy where students were forced to stay away from the walls because they were made of asbestos, a carcinogenic material that is particularly dangerous when it starts to deteriorate. As we researched the true story, we discovered that there are thousands and thousands of schools and public buildings all over the world in the same condition.

How much of the film is accurate? How close is it to a documentary?
The core elements of the story are pretty accurate, the characters are fictionalized. We wanted the film to have a doc feeling, we let the story world invade the space of the characters who are always framed around walls, stairs, doors. The camera observes them quietly as they are trapped inside this poisonous prison.

What sort of research did you do?
We spoke directly with the people involved in the true story that inspired the film and we researched all the technical details regarding asbestos, we even had an asbestos abatement company who was on set during the production as consultant.

How was your experience filming with children?
We were a bit scared at the beginning because we had a few long shots with twelve kids on camera at the same time, but it was truly magical working with them. We created the set experience as if it was a game for them, they had a blast and made it incredibly joyful for all the crew.

Who do you hope will see the film? What do you hope they take from it?
We are thrilled to world premiere the film here in Clermont-Ferrand, two years ago we presented here our previous short Magic Alps and meeting the fantastic audience of this festival was an unforgettable experience. It’s so nice to come back “home”, we hope they will respond to Il Muro Bianco in the same way they did for Magic Alps.

Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
Yes, absolutely. With shorts we can focus on every single detail storywise and productionwise, and it’s way easier for us to experiment and try different solutions. We usually test shoot all the film before going into production to check every single camera angle and every beat of the script.

Il Muro Bianco [The White Wall] is part of International Competition I11.