Interview with Filmmaker Filippo Michele Guarna (MISTER EGG)

MISTER EGG was the winner of BEST FILM at the March 2019 Comedy & Drama Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Filippo Michele Guarna: It was a period of intense philosophical ‘restlessness’ for me; self-inquisition, confusion and doubt – the kind of thoughts that start bugging you when you’re approaching your twenties, I guess. Such a ride can be heavy, so I decided to take it the light way, underlining through comedy the absurdity of existence. Humor really is a superpower, it can change one’s perspective in fascinating ways and peculiarly gifts human life with hale dignity.

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

It took about ten days: I had to deliver a short film to film school, and I was running out of time.

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

This sounds like looking for a title: ‘philosophical egg’.

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

Editing the face of Akuzike Mauluka (Mister Egg) onto the egg forced my to push the boundaries of my basic VFX skills a little further. But the hardest part was probably acknowledging the value of my work while it was coming to life in the final phase of editing; I am very critical of my works, especially when I just finished them. I seem to notice more their weaknesses than their strengths, and with ‘Mister Egg’ that was the case: only various precious external points of view helped me shedding a light on its virtues too. A process which furtherly unfolded through watching the audience feedback video.

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

Some kind of alienation, it seemed surreal to me that they were talking, from a theatre on the other side of the world, about my film on a talking egg. It was an enlightening experience somehow, it was the first time I heard about Mister Egg from someone I don’t personally know. My interior voice reacted something like this: ‘Who are you, ladies and gents? What do you want from me? Why are you saying nice things about my short film I made in my kitchen a couple of misty winters ago? Well, thank you kind strangers!’. I also had a laugh when Paolo Valenti (Paul) was compared to Jon Snow – this often happens with him.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

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

As I previously mentioned, I had to submit a short film to film school. I was lacking an idea which would satisfy me, and time was running short. I was standing in the kitchen, around midnight, scratching my beardless chin in pursuit of inspiration. Then I looked at the frying pan, love-heartedly thinking about how I ate an egg everyday for breakfast, and not-so-love-heartedly realising how this would have raised my cholesterol levels very quickly. Cholesterol apart, I imagined a philosophical conversation between an ordinary guy and his breakfast’s egg, and was fascinated by such egg’s hypothetical perspective. An interaction which offered me new dialogic ‘toys’ to play with.

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

Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

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

I can’t compare it to past tools of submission, since this was my first experience with festivals. However, I don’t think it can get simpler than that, and this is positive. Upload your work, look for festivals, send it through: it goes straight to the point.

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

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.

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

Lately I’ve been writing quite a few short scripts. To be honest, quite a lot short scripts. Too many of them, indeed. By focusing on one of them, in the next months I will dedicate myself to making it come to life. Unfortunately, I lost the habit of eating eggs for breakfast. My cholesterol levels are OK, but I’ll have to seek inspiration elsewhere!