Interview with Filmmaker Alberto Nacci (VOICES)

VOICES was the winner of BEST MUSIC at the April 2018 Experimental Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Alberto Nacci: This is the seventh film of a series of short films called Body & Sound on the relationships between musicians and their musical instruments.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

About 6 months. The longest time was to have the 4 singers available: a month to select the piece of music (written and arranged by Caterina Comeglio) and write the storyboard, three days to shoot the film and about 2 months for editing it.

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

intriguing, unconventional

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle was to make some scenes that I had imagined but that were technically very difficult to shoot

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Surely satisfaction! Before the words I picked up the facial expressions of the interviewees: all satisfied and excited! Thrilling the public is the most important thing for me

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

I have been a musician for over 30 years (alto &tenor saxophones, from 1978 to 2009) and VOICES is part of the series of short films called Body & Sound that I have been working on since 2014: a way for me to look at the music world from different points of observation.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

In my life I have seen many films and usually do research on the balance between images and sound. Which must have the same importance!

8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

I have registered my films on different online platforms. Today I think Filmfreeway is the best for the quality of festivals and the organization of the web platform. Unfortunately there is no section relating to the size of the prizes: this is important for filmmakers to finance future films.

9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

I love jazz. I played jazz for many years and… I love the Miles Davis album KIND OF BLUE

10. What is next for you? A new film?

After VOICES I made other shorts for the Body & Sound series: I REMEMBER FRIDA (hommage to frida Kahlo) made with Mexican musician Israel Varela, SPACES with Italian jazz musician Claudio Fasoli, FLAMENCO with Spanish dancer Cristina Benitez and Italian musician Livio Gianola. The next one will be CELLO with the exceptional Swiss musician Alessandra Doninelli. The goal is to see these shorts in all the TV channels in the world!

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.