Interviewer: Thursday Movie Night (Ex-Scary Spot) (originally in italian, but translated in english)
Date of birth: 3/3/1978
Where do you live: Rome
Favorite movie and why: "A Clockwork Orange" for the visual shock and language strength.
A movie you hate and why: I hate pseudointellectual and boring movies, as many art movies that are made in Italy, for example, the movies by Ferzan Ozpetek.
Favorite Book: "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco.
Favorite band: Pink Floyd.
Hobbies: Cooking (I'm a good cook).
Hobbies: Cooking (I'm a good cook).
Thursday Movie Night: Good morning, Gabriele. Thank you for granting us this interview.
Gabriele Albanesi: Thank you!
Thursday Movie Night: You're known for your contribution to italian horror cinema, having directed movies like "Il Bosco Fuori" and "Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show". When have you decided to start making movies and why?
Gabriele Albanesi: At sixteen, I started making amateur movies with my classmates after I fell in love with cinema a couple of years before, thanks to the movies of Kubrick and Cronenberg, who were the first filmmakers that I discovered.
Thursday Movie Night: How is the day-to-day of a horror movie director in Italy? Do people recognize your work in your own country? Can the industry of horror cinema be considered developed in Italy?
Gabriele Albanesi: Currently, it's not easy to make a horror movie in Italy. It's a genre that only survives in the underground and with low budget. Instead they're opening many more possibilities to the crime and noir genre, thanks to the success of recent movies and TV series.
Thursday Movie Night: I've seen your movie "Il Bosco Fuori" for the first time when I was little and it was a movie that really "shocked" me at the time. Actually, "Il Bosco Fuori" was probably the first splatter movie I've ever seen. How did you create all those really realistic scenes of graphic violence with such a low budget?
Gabriele Albanesi: Thanks to the synergy and enthusiasm of all the people who have participated, from producer Gregory Rossi, who has scrupulously followed throughout the implementation process to the special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti, who created the magnificent special effects.
Thursday Movie Night: The filming of "Il Bosco Fuori" took only 17 days. What was the team's day-to-day like during the filming of the movie?
Gabriele Albanesi: It was very tiring but exciting at the same time, because we were all convinced of something new and brave for Italian cinema, something we believed strongly.
Thursday Movie Night: This film has been acclaimed by many international festivals and filmmakers like Sam Raimi. How does it feel having your work recognized by the director of the "The Evil Dead" trilogy and "Drag Me to Hell"?
Gabriele Albanesi: Seeing my movie distributed in America by the label of Sam Raimi, Ghost House, was the realization of a dream, since Raimi has always been my role model. The way in which he managed to do "Evil Dead", independently and in a low budget, was the same principle that I've followed to make "Il Bosco Fuori".
Thursday Movie Night: I must admit that I haven't seen your movie "Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show", but i'm planning on doing it in the near future. Can you tell us a bit about the film?
Gabriele Albanesi: Ubaldo Terzani is a different movie, more thoughtful and dialogical, based on the clash of characters. It's a thriller, closer to the "giallo" genre than Bosco Fuori, which was more of a survival-style movie, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-like.
Thursday Movie Night: What was your contribution to the movie "Fantasmi"? I know you've worked with others directors on this one...
Gabriele Albanesi: Fantasmi, also known as "Paranormal Stories", is an anthology movie that I produced, directed by six new directors, all dealing with ghost stories. In Italy it was released in theaters and on DVD with a good response from the public.
Thursday Movie Night: Every director has movies that he/ she admires and that may or may not inspire him/ her. What are the italian horror movies that you like the most? And what about foreign movies? Were you inspired by any of these movies for your own work?
Gabriele Albanesi: I'm a big movie buff so many movies have inspired me, even unconsciously. My favorites are Phenomena, Tenebre and Opera by Dario Argento, I Tre volti della paura, Reazione a catena and Shock by Mario Bava.
Thursday Movie Night: IMDB states that the sequel to "Il Bosco Fuori" is in production and a trailer has been published. Can you tell us a bit about "Kid in the Box"? And when is it scheduled to be released?
Gabriele Albanesi: It's a very difficult movie, both for the uncomfortable contents and for the rather high budget. The main performers are two children, one has no legs and no arms, the other is a cannibal, they are the two children who survived the ending of Il Bosco Fuori. Kid in the Box is about their odyssey in the world. Because of the extreme theme and the complex special effects I found it very difficult to make and eventually I left the project, hoping to resume it in the near future.
Thursday Movie Night: Finally, have you got any other projects in production? If so, can you tell us about them?
Gabriele Albanesi: Currently I'm focusing on a very hard and grim film noir.
Thursday Movie Night: Again, thank you for granting this interview and good luck with your work!
Gabriele Albanesi: Thank you and "crepi il lupo" (good luck)!
