The Room

The Room is the latest fashion film by director Fiorella Pomarino. We had the chance to ask her a few questions about her latest work, which explores the themes of entrapment while being in a relationship. Somewhere between dream and reality, The Room becomes a way for Pomarino to find closure and transform traumatic experiences of her past into art.

The Room feels like a dream. As a viewer we are not quite sure what is real and what is imagined. Would you say this is a correct reading of the film?
Yes! That is a correct reading of the film. At the beginning the idea was to separate these two worlds : real vs fantasy, but when we were in the editing process it was more organic to mix both worlds and stay only with what the viewer should or could feel.
What inspired you to direct The Room?
The truth is, I wanted to talk about a personal experience. Doing it as a fashion film helped me shape the message and deliver it in a way you will stay more with the feeling of despair, anxiety or even more. Which for me is more important than the story itself.
The relationship between the characters isn't entirely clear. There's complicity, but also a certain darkness to it. Why is that?
I feel sometimes relationships are very complicated. It is hard to get out of toxic relationships when you already created a bond with that person. I guess I wanted to show that.
We loved the sound design - it's both dramatic and unsettling. What was the process behind sourcing it?
I worked with a good friend Erick Del Aguila. We had a few meetings where I explained the emotions I felt around the film more than the story itself and so he created different options for The room.
The cast is obviously a key element in your film. Where were you looking for when casting for The Room?
To be completely honest the idea of the film at the very first start was to have one character with different personalities. Then the idea changed a little bit and I thought maybe it would be nice to show these different personalities with different characters. I knew I wanted to show the aggressive guy but also "the sweet lover" and from there we started to cast people that would suit those elements. It was a really nice process and I feel it came along very well.
The styling is stunning. Who did you work with and what was your brief?
I actually did the styling plus the set design. I had it so clear in my head what I wanted. Also I had a very tiny budget for the film so I sourced the brands and designers and they were on board. They helped a lot by lending me their garments for the film. Thinking of it now, I wouldn't do it again unless it is the only option. Every time I have done something with a stylist or a set design that is not me the film looks much better. I think it is because everyone adds more to a film, collaboration is key for me.