Synopsis : " Un chalet isolé dans une forêt enneigée...Un homme aveuglé par l'alcool...Une femme incapable de se rebeller...Et une petite fille de 8 ans inquiétante...La nuit silencieuse est brisée par des cris...Le début d'un terrible cauchemar... "

Vous n'êtes sans savoir que le cinéma de genre n'est pas au mieux de sa forme. Voir un bon film de genre au cinéma est devenu phénomène rare. Notamment à cause de producteurs craintifs et d'un système économique qui privilégie le cinéma conventionnel grand public ayant le plus de chance de rapporter gros. Cependant, le cinéma de genre n'est pas mort pour autant. Et ce, que l'on se place en France ou à l'international. Il y a quelques mois, l'on vous partageait une interview du jeune et prometteur metteur en scène français : Nicolas Hugon. Comme lui, il en existe des dizaines en France, mais peu arrivent à monter leurs projets les plus ambitieux. Il en va de même pour les cinéastes d'autres pays, cependant, certains arrivent malgré tout à faire aboutir leurs divers projets. Projets toujours intéressants à découvrir et analyser.

Parmi eux, l'on retrouve le scénariste et réalisateur italien Davide Melini. Ça fait maintenant plus de dix ans qu'il travail dans le milieu du cinéma (comme assistant-réalisateur notamment sur des séries comme Rome ou encore Penny Dreadful) et l'on peut dire qu'il a réussi, grâce à son abnégation et son envie, à se faire une petite place dans le milieu. Tout est relatif, mais le ci peu (qui est déjà pas mal) lui permet de réaliser des courts-métrages intéressants, de faire du cinéma de genre, mais également de pérenniser un genre italien de moins en moins présent dans le cinéma moderne, qui n'est autre que le gallo. Genre rendu célèbre grâce à des cinéastes comme Mario Bava ou encore Dario Argento, le gallo n'est pas un genre de cinéma qui parle à tous types de spectateurs. C'est un genre particulier où se mélangent enquêtes policières, apparitions, drame ou encore de l'érotisme dans son ton le plus léger. Le tout avec une direction artistique des plus vive où se mêlent majoritairement le bleu et le rouge, des effets de montage pour le moins expérimentaux (sans trop généraliser) ainsi que des effets visuels de distorsion et on en passe des meilleurs. Le terme qui nous viendrait aujourd'hui à l'esprit serait : kitch. Kitch ? Oui, mais un kitch assumé et que l'on voit sans déplaisir à partir du moment que l'on sait à quoi l'on a à faire.

Loin de cet aspect kitch et plus à mi chemin entre le giallo et le cinéma d'horreur que l'on retrouve surtout dans le court-métrage The Puzzle, d'autres sortent du lot et paraissent beaucoup plus accessibles, mais pas pour autant conventionnels. Tout aussi fantastique dans le ton et l'ambiance, The Sweet Hand of the White Rose est un film esthétiquement très soigné et réussi. Un vrai film de mise en scène (et de montage accessoirement, la troisième étape d'écriture d'un film) qui n'a pas besoin de dialogues pour faire comprendre l'histoire qu'il cherche à conter aux spectateurs. Avec ses deux nouveaux projets actuellement en post-production, Davide Melini semble avoir franchi un nouveau cap.

Nous n'avons encore aucune image du court-métrage titré The Deep Shock (annoncé comme un véritable hommage au Giallo), mais Lion est quant à lui très prometteur. Sa bande-annonce nous promet déjà un film d'horreur dans sa forme la plus plastique et sanglante. La technologie le permettant, les plans semblent très soignés avec encore et toujours, un beau travail sur la lumière. Hâte d'en voir plus et nous en reparlerons, une fois disponible (Halloween approche à grands pas !). En attendant de pouvoir découvrir le résultat final, nous avons pu poser quelques questions au réalisateur italien. L'occasion d'en savoir plus sur sa carrière, ses films actuellement en post-production que sont The Deep Shock et Lion, mais également sur son ressenti quant à la " disparition " du cinéma de genre et indépendant au profit d'un cinéma plus " grand spectacle " dans les salles de cinéma.

1 - How for any good beginning of interview, can you in a few words, introduce yourself for the readers?

Hello to everyone. My name is Davide Melini and I'm an Italian screenwriter and director. I was born on April 9, 1979 in Rome and my career officially started up in 2004. Until now, I directed 6 short films: " Amore Estremo " (2006), " La Sceneggiatura " (2006), " The Puzzle " (2008), " The Sweet Hand of the White Rose " (2010), " Lion " (2017) and " Deep Shock " (2017). I also worked as an assistant director in the TV series " Roma " (2005) and " Penny Dreadful " (2014), in the movie " Baciami piccina " (2006) by Roberto Cimpanelli and in " Mother of Tears: the Third Mother " (2007) by Dario Argento.

2 - Fascinated by the cinema, did you have a particular school career or are you completely self-taught?

I have to say that I've grown up in cinema, because I've got an uncle who's worked there for 30 years. I started to visit him on the job, and I loved it from the beginning. For me it was incredible to discover the world "behind" a movie. Step by step (and very slowly), I started to study it and many years ago, I wrote my first screenplay. I've continued to write until I directed my first short film, " Amore Estremo " in 2006.

3 - Before speaking about your new projects, i read on internet that you already have several short films to your credit as scriptwriter and director. Is it essential for you to write and to realize?

Yes, it's something that lives inside me. It's a fire that lights up only in in determinate moments and it starts to grow, grow and grow... It doesn't stop until the story is written. And the direction goes in parallel: while I'm writing a new story I visualize it by images.

4 - Could you shoot a scenario written by anybody else afterward?

The process is different, but I think I would have absolutely no problem.

5 - Afterward, you also worked with a great master of the genre movie (NDLR : Dario Argento) as trainee assistant director. How did you live this experience?

This was a dream came true! When the Master of Terror speaks you have to be quiet and open your ears, because it's like a film class! He has perfect knowledge of cinematic language, each technique and all objectives. To see how he works and the way he shoots a film is something exceptional. As a lover of horror movies, I can't not love this great director.

6 - You spoke about the Master of Terror, Dario Argento. Some film critics consider you his natural heir. How do you feel about that?

I say that there is no point of comparison. Dario Argento released the great "Animal Trilogy"(" The Bird With the Crystal Plumage ", "The Cat o' Nine Tails", "Four Flies on Grey Velvet") and many other masterpieces like " Deep Red " and " Suspiria " (to name a few!), while I have only worked in independent short films. I thank the film critics, because it's always nice to hear good words about oneself, but the truth is that I'm light years away from the Maestro.

7 - You've also worked on mainstream television shows such as "Rome" and "Penny Dreadful".

Yes, we are talking about big productions, with high budgets. The set design for " Rome ", built inside the "Cinecittà" studios, was really incredible! And what about the Roman soldiers costumes and all the make up and special effects? Simply amazing! " Penny Dreadful " was another very complex production, whose crew was made of more than three hundred professionals and almost all of them were from Dublin. There were twelve assistant directors and only a guy from Barcelona and I were " foreigners ". All the others were coming from Ireland! We shot for three weeks in the desert of Almeria and inside " Fort Bravo ", which is the biggest Western-style film studio in Europe. Working with Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson (" Rome "), Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett and Wes Studi (" Penny Dreadful ") has been a real pleasure!

8 - In France, we have the impression that, what we call " le film de genre " is slowly dying in spite of the presence of young directors of great talent (NDLR : Alexandre Aja, Pascal Laugier, Benjamin Rocher ...). Have you the impression that the genre movie is well and truly in perdition in the face of the more " commercial " competition?

Unfortunately, this is the truth. The figure of the producer has completely disappeared and now everyone point on comercial products. Now who comes from the " Big Brother " show, is considered asa great actor, and producer bet more on the beauty of this people than on their skill. The result is that many young people go to watch the movie (and for this there is an economic return), but then, in the eyes of film critics, the film is a shit. I hope "le film de genre" and the "independent film world" will never die! We are still free to do what we feel and want!

9 - International film critic started to know you with " The Puzzle " (2008) and " The Sweet Hand of the White Rose " (2010), two short film that won many festivals and received many great reviews around the world. What can you say about that?

These two films are completely different from each other.

About " The Puzzle ", I knew I only had one night to shoot and for that I started to think on how to involve the audience, but it was very difficult. What could I do with so little time? I knew how to do a four or five minute short film and I bet everything on rhythm. It was the only thing that interested me. I thought that if I could not tell too much with the story, I would have to rely entirely on the visual part and this is exactly what I did. I think that's been the key to its success.

And " The Sweet Hand of the White Rose " is a purely fantastic short film, it's a dark fairytale, full of dramatic moments. Compared to my previous " The Puzzle ", this film is more soft, less claustrophobic. I must admit that I have fulfilled one of my desires which was to shoot in a cemetery at night! Most of the short was filmed in the Monumental Cemetery of San Sebastián, located in Casabermeja, the purest and most beautiful cemetery in Malaga (Spain).

10 - "Lion", your new short film is at present in post-production (available teaser), what was your desire with this new project?

I felt the need to write something newer and stronger. My idea was to enter into the darkness and explore real terror. I set only one key limit: the characters should be totally isolated, so I cut off any way of escape. I immediately imagined an isolated chalet, lost in the middle of a snowy forest, so that the focus shifts inexorably onto the only available light: the house. Knowing from the beginning that it will be impossible to escape, the chalet is charged with an even more metaphorical power. And once the audience will be in the corner and can't run away, I will show them all sorts of horror. All I can say is that once inside the house, you will pray to get out.

11 - The teaser reveals us a very bluish colorimetry in contradiction with the violence which seems to be able to explode at any time. Why this choice?

Because I wanted to make everything the most creepy and claustrophobic as possible,playing a lot with the blackness and shadows... No one knows what or who is hiding in the darkness of the night...

The film is starring Pedro Sánchez (8 years old who has already had experience in some tv advertisements), Michael Segal (very popular actor in Italy) and Tania Mercader (a talented stage actress). I'm really very happy with their job!

13 - Can you tell us some words about "Deep Shock", your other current project, which is also actually in post-production?

"Deep Shock" does attempt to pay tribute to the Italian film genre called "Giallo" and the title of this project is inspired by the most famous horror movies of two of the most important Italian directors: Dario Argento ("Deep Red") and Mario Bava ("Shock"). It's a short film that mixes thriller and horror elements. The goal is to recreate the magic and true intrigue from the 70s, adapting them to the technical evolution and development that this genre has experienced all along. It was shot with the same crew as "Lion", but the cast has obviously changed. "Deep Shock" stars Muireann Bird, Francesc Pagès, George Bracebridge, Lorna Larkin, Erica Prior and Luis Fernández de Uribe. It's my biggest and most important project and it represents my last short film, before trying to move to a feature movie.

14 - At this stage of your career, what do your most recent works represent?

"Lion" and "Deep Shock" are very important for me, because they are my latest short films, and I am now looking forward to developing a feature. While "Lion" represents my return behind the camera, "Deep Shock" will close a cycle that began in 2006 with my first short "Amore Estremo". Back then I honestly didn't know what we could achieve, but I'm very happy with how things went so far. It was wonderful to see a team of professionals moving all together in the same direction. The fact that many people came from the "Penny Dreadful" series resulted in a truly multinational crew and this was good for the films. If you work in harmony, the results are definitely more positive!

15 - Any other horror projects currently in the works?

I'd like to write a new feature screenplay... I hope the inspiration will come soon hahaha.

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