Regienotiz zu „Amanda“

When I wrote Amanda I didn’t have any other definitive motive besides writing a nice story, which is what I usually try to do. I didn’t really have a plan or a character in my head and I think if you treat characters with respect, the same respect you have for people in general, then you don’t really have to worry about the story. Anyway, I don’t think the way of telling and writing the story can be very different from the writer: in that sense it is a relief not to have a choice, because it may not be the best way, but in the end it is the only way to really express oneself. For example, I noticed that the film often yearns for the melancholy, ironic and understated; these three together, in fact, are characteristics that I greatly admire. It’s clear that imagination has limits when it needs to be represented: reality, one’s own abilities. However, I have never pandered to these problems, and I am happy about that.

 

Indeed, I don’t have a great relationship with time or geography, even when not explicit, and in the same way, all the characters in Amanda are also always ahead of time and have no sense of direction.

 

Given the choice, I feel more comfortable working with light that doesn’t really reveal what time it is, and with non-places.

 

As a reference, for me there are landscapes that resemble inner landscapes more than others, or at least that I recognize that way and prefer like the moors, the suburban places of the Mid-West, how I imagine the suburbs of Tokyo, from the photos I’ve seen because I’ve never actually been there, etc. I would regret not being able to put them together, side by side, just to respect a real geography, which doesn’t belong in the world of film anyway.

 

Carolina Cavalli