How did the film come about?

The idea came from a close photographer friend of ours Alessandro Iovino, who was in Naples at the time back in 2018. He told us about these Neapolitan figures called “femminielli” who had a special charm.

We decided to join him in the project and look for people who had distinctive features but at the same time were real and genuine. We found them, and stayed with them for five or six days, from morning to night. 

We spent hours scrolling through Waxman Brothers’ website, wanting to buy their entire shirt range. And by the looks of it, so did everyone else – the collection is nearly sold out. Nice vibe. We like the fact too that your film for Waxman Bros isn’t about shirts at all. 

We proposed the project to the Waxman guys and they were immediately excited to participate. We also agreed that the shirts should not be seen but simply the story and the characters would be the vehicle to explain the Waxman philosophy as well.

It feels spontaneous – was it? Or did you plan it in detail?   

We had no specific story lines, however, the intent was clear which was to try to be invisible but at the same time to create an intimate bond with them so that they could feel free to be themselves.

The direction was practically nonexistent, we were trying more to create a good atmosphere and mostly it was like standing on steps in a square and watching what was going on.

How did the film evolve in the edit?

Editing took us longer than expected, we tried various ways to be able to best express what we wanted “our” characters to transmit. Some edits were too long and with no substance, others too commercial to be able to give back what we felt in those days. After several attempts, we found the way so that we could be one hundred percent satisfied.

What did you shoot it on?

Ha! We shot everything with my old Sony Alpha 7sII!

Info:

@elbarriofilm

@riccardominari

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