On 30th October at Cinema Aquila in Rome, starting from 7:00 pm, Corti d’Autore – an evening with free admission. Several short films created with funding from the 2023 Short Film Call Art. 7 L.93/92 NUOVO IMAIE will be screened. An initiative supported by Nuovo Cinema Aquila, with the collecting society’s participation, aimed at showcasing the winning audiovisual works from the dedicated calls. On this occasion, Collettivo Chiaroscuro interviewed the cinematographer, Francesco Scazzosi. Interview by Alessandro Chiodo.
Let’s discuss Valerio Vittorio Garaffa’s short film Refugium. Can you introduce us to the story?
Refugium addresses applications for “international protection” highlighting the stark disparity between the number of requests and the resources (especially in terms of officials) available to territorial commissions to review them thoroughly. It depicts the process of one such asylum request. The story unfolds through the eyes of our protagonist Cristina (a member of the commission), but through synecdoche, the aim is to bring a broader situation to light, in a condensed yet effective way.
A social denunciation…
It’s certainly a project driven by a strong social urgency. The short film aims to underscore the challenges of the asylum request management system, and this message is made explicit, at the end, with a notice in the closing credits where official data illustrate the significant “bottleneck” between the number of requests received and the human resources available to review them adequately. In 2023 alone, Italy received over 136,000 requests; the officials on the Territorial Commissions, who carry out crucial work to ensure the recognition of asylum rights, number only a few hundred. The primary motivation behind this work is to raise awareness of this reality.
How did you get involved with the project?
The social theme attracted me. Once I read the script, I immediately felt a responsibility to give something back to the world… to help, with my small and modest contribution, to shed light on such an important and current issue through this short film. I also felt the need to step out of my comfort zone for a while and work within a production context quite different from usual standards, which allowed me to challenge myself. The director, Valerio Vittorio Garaffa, who comes from a theatre background, developed the story and screenplay with great dedication and meticulous attention (for over a year) together with his partner Chiara Cimmino, who also plays the lead role of Cristina. On paper, the project was solid and cohesive. The production (Seven Hills and Paloosa) was managed by friends with whom I’ve collaborated in the past; they also embraced the project’s ethical and social value, offering their support with great enthusiasm.
I noticed a theatrical imprint in the language of the short film, with wide shots reminiscent of a stage. How did you balance this theatrical approach with a cinematic one, and what were your visual choices?
I tried to support the director’s vision as much as possible, as from the beginning he didn’t want to overload the film with too many shots or redundant cuts. His approach was minimalist, preferring to carefully calibrate cuts according to the dialogues and the actors’ performances. This rigorous view of the shot as the primary narrative unit gave the film a freshness that stands apart from more traditional cinematic conventions. For example, many of the décadrage choices, which initially might have seemed unusual, proved very effective in the editing phase. It was important to allow the director complete freedom with the camera work, stepping in only when truly necessary to ensure scene coverage and a smooth narrative. His clear intent was to avoid excessive coverage, developing the action and story through a few, essential shots. This engagement with such a different staging approach was very stimulating for me.
What were your visual choices in telling this story?
Being a low-budget project, with the vast majority of resources offered pro bono, I had to adapt to decisions often made out of necessity during pre-production. I also have to admit that I joined mid-process, at a later stage of preparation. This inevitably influenced the visual outcome, steering me towards a quasi-documentary style and approach focused on reorganising elements from real life. Almost all choices had already been made: from locations to the palette, costumes to makeup. Nonetheless, I aimed to give the project a personal contribution and create a cinematic language with the tools still at hand: from the capture system (lens/sensor/filter combination) to the use of large format, but mainly through my specific approach to lighting. The lighting style was, by both choice and necessity, very minimal, naturalistic, mimetic, almost invisible. The intention was to modulate contrasts, but above all to manage (more by subtracting than adding) light with subtlety and delicacy, never overshadowing the natural flow of actions, dialogues, or the narrative itself.
You chose a widescreen format, 2.39:1, which is usually associated with vast spaces or less intimate films. Can you explain this choice? And what were your choices in terms of camera and lenses?
The idea for this format, in agreement with Valerio, came from the desire to create a juxtaposition between the social, documentary-like theme and its representation within a cinematic framework. This format helped us to better portray multiple characters in small, cramped spaces, while allowing us to isolate the protagonist within sections of the frame during moments of doubt, discouragement, solitude, and a sense of powerlessness. We used an ARRI ALEXA Mini LF in open gate with Blackwing 7 T-tune lenses. I must admit I’m not a lens fetishist, but this series truly impressed me: they’re rich in sharpness, fast, mechanically solid, well-balanced in colour, and optically very consistent. Their rendering seemed perfect for this project: the bokeh is soft and clean towards the focal point, with sharper backgrounds and a distinct rawness in the out-of-focus areas. These features helped convey the characters’ discomfort and disorientation within their environment, while also allowing me to treat the actors’ faces with gentleness and respect, as Valerio requested, to evoke a strong sense of humanity. The personality of the lenses won me over: character without artifice, aesthetic without becoming glamorous.
I also noticed some post-production work on the image. Was there a specific treatment?
Some of the texture was created directly during shooting, using filters to soften the sharpness of the digital sensor, especially on skin tones. In post-production, with colourist Christian Gazzi from GMF, we added a light grain, and a touch of halation, and worked very selectively on sharpness, tone separation, and individual saturations. The main goal was to reinforce an already solid look, giving a natural image consistent with the short film’s social theme, without ever becoming overly aesthetic or slick.
Is there anything I haven’t asked that you feel is important to mention about this project?
I’d like to mention *12 Angry Men* by Sidney Lumet, a film that inspired us in moments of uncertainty, particularly with regard to coverage. Additionally, it’s worth noting that the biggest challenge was filming such a dialogue-dense project in only three days, with a small crew and an intense pace. We had to be extremely selective and decisive in all our choices. It was a great learning experience. In conclusion: in a time of extreme difficulty for our industry, like the one we are experiencing now, I believe it’s essential to commit to stories that urgently need to be told. Cinema still has an infinite desire to live and can return to being a vital language, especially from an ethical and social standpoint. In our small way, we gave it a go.
Thank you, Francesco.
