Comet
Directed by Mattia Fiumani
What would you do if a comet was about to hit Earth? Would you try the impossible to save yourself and those around you? Premiering today on Curation Hour today, Comet takes us on an unlikely journey in which a woman tries to save an island from being destroyed.
Let’s talk to director Mattia Fiumani about what led him to direct the short film.
What inspired you to direct Comet? Would you say it’s partly a reaction to what we have (and are) experiencing in recent years?
Yes, definitely it is. The idea behind Comet came as a reaction to the state of anxiety we live in. I was inspired by “Le Discours de la Panthère”, a beautiful illustrated book by Jérémie Moreau. The mix of urgency and futility that move the characters at the beginning of the story was key to starting my own meditation over how those two feelings, urgency and futility, shape the world we live in today.
The voiceover throughout makes Comet feel almost like a documentary. In general, the sound design plays a leading role in creating momentum and supporting the narrative aspect of the film. Who did you work with? Can you tell us more about your approach?
I have always been a fan of the pseudo-documentary genre, portraying fictional events in a documentary style. Today we have a voyeuristic appetite for real-life content, but we also desperately need an alternative to the world we have created. With sound designer Andrea Gobbi we worked to transfer this duality to the soundscapes that envelop the two characters - one entangled in the human paradox of urgency and futility, the other idealistic and ethereal. I think Andrea did great when the two characters finally meet and their worlds collide in what should be a pivotal moment in the story.
Who did you work with for the styling? What was the brief you gave?
The styling was one of the first aspects to be addressed and I worked with Diletta Accorroni, a regular collaborator of mine. We wanted a more frivolous look for the first character, something that could resonate with the holiday vibes of the locations and that could make her look unfit for a task such as saving the island from a comet. The second character we knew was en evolved version of the first character, more in tune with the natural environment and more practical, but we felt she also needed an alien element, something that could hint to the possibility that she was just a reflection, an hallucination maybe, of the first character.
What was the most challenging aspect about directing Comet?
I guess the real challenge was being just two of us on set. We were shooting before sunset and after sunrise - download footage, write, talk over scenes during the day. Super-skeleton crews have great charm, filmmaking becomes more like making music - intuitive and immediate. But being able to turn obstacles into opportunities is paramount and flexibility really is the name of the game. I like it, I see it as the triathlon of filmmaking.
The location is stunning. Where did you shoot? And why did you choose it?
We shot Comet in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. It is a stunning part of the world. I was looking for a location that could look both as a holiday heaven and the end of the world. As a desert location it is a great option: it’s not far from Europe and there are film rentals on the island.
What’s next for you?
I’ll keep on writing. But I am trying to free myself from the idea of script. There is too much of a gap between writing actions and directing actors. I am working at a book which is a mix of sketches and photographs and words, I hope to see that become a film one day.
Director: Mattia Fiumani
Writer: Mattia Fiumani
Producer: Mattia Fiumani
Key Cast: Izabela Strzelczyk