On a dirt road in a small village in Southern Italy, Antonio comes across the wounded body of the town drunk, Vincenzo, passed out in a haze of booze and dehydration. After Antonio rushes the old man to the hospital, a misdiagnosis of the cause of Vincenzo’s injuries leads to a devastating mistake that alters their lives… for the better. That is the plot of the short film Without by newcomer Paola Sinisgalli, a native Italian who moved to New York in 2010. The idea for the film was born after an incident in which Sinisgalli felt inconvenienced at having to sidestep a homeless man on her way to work one morning. Dismayed that the apathy and selfishness of life in the Big Apple had influenced her, Sinisgalli was reminded of a story she'd heard while vacationing in Costa Rica; the tragedy of a drunk man who had gotten lost and was discovered by a local who misunderstood his injuries. Sinisgalli’s story is about physical and psychological isolation and how an act of altruism saves a man’s life. Through the filmmaking process, she was able to find her way back to the humanity she had lost. We got to know Sinisgalli, who raised the funds to shoot the film through a KickStarter campaign.
Several things inspired Without: hearing an anecdote while on vacation in Costa Rica and your experience living the disconnected life of a New Yorker. Did you always know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I wouldn't define myself as a filmmaker because this is my first experience and there are people who have studied the art for many years, but I did always feel a strong attraction towards filmmaking. When I was really young my mother used to take me out for movies often, providing me with personalized reviews and a good dose of popcorn! As a teen, I used to watch thousands of movies and during school I used to film my daily routine trying to convey how adventurous my day was.
During college this aggressive homemade video production activity ceased, but I kept going to the movies regularly. When I moved to NYC in 2010, I worked for a sort of production company which offered me my first onset experience. I also met a lot of important people in my private life who brought me closer to the art of cinema. That underlying passion began to rekindle. I understood that I had to start doing something about it for real.
I am not a filmmaker, but I now want to take care of things that matter to me. Once, while sipping a coffee in Brooklyn, [director-writer-producer] Paolo Monico told me to dirty my hands with anything I found exciting in cinema. [He said,] "You'll learn, you'll grow. But most importantly you'll do something." Blessed words! I decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to make the Costa Rica story become a short film. Ah! And when the festival routine is done, I will send a DVD to the owner of the pension [where I stayed] in Costa Rica!
Did you ever consider shooting Without in New York?
As much as I love New York, it definitely would not have been the right place to host Without's plot. I was looking for a rural scenic location and Basilicata, my father's native southern Italian region, did the trick! Choosing southern Italy was a no-brainer for me. Vaglio, the village where we filmed, was the best choice I could have ever made!
Why did you use the crowdfunding site Kickstarter?
I was undecided between Kickstarter and Indiegogo to [tell the] truth. Then I realized that Kickstarter organizes a yearly multi-city film festival for Kickstarter-funded movie projects, which shows they really give a lot of space and importance to filmmakers... and then it was a no-brainer!
Do you plan to make a full-length feature in the future?
I have a feature film in mind as my next project. Without was born as a short film, and I am not planning on doing [it as] a full-length feature.
The film is shot in the relatively unknown region of Basilicata which holds the perfect setting for its themes of psychological and geographical isolation. Did filming there pose any difficulty for you and the crew mentally or physically for the five days in which you shot the film?
As strange as it might sound, I believe it was the best location to shoot Without. The town of Vaglio, its inhabitants and people from neighboring towns helped us in all possible ways. We had the total support of the mayor Giancarlo Tamburrino and [council member] Graziano Matteo who managed to grant every single request. It was relatively easy to close down streets to traffic and pedestrians, to keep the equipment in a safe location, to film early in the morning or late at night. Extras were excited and enthusiastic to be with us, and they showed a certain savoir-faire on set due to previous film projects. Moreover, when we filmed in the hospital in Potenza (Ospedale San Carlo di Potenza), thanks to Director Rocco Maglietta and Dr. Giardina, we had a whole department to ourselves as well as consultants to make sure we could obtain the best result possible. It surprised me but Basilicata, in its apparent lack of cinematic knowledge, revealed itself to be the perfect place to film Without.
After making the short, do you feel that you have found the sensitivity you lost after moving to NYC? How do you see yourself as a person today?
This is a great question! The project itself brought me closer to people because of its altruistic nature. The whole Kickstarter campaign, being in a remote place in Southern Italy and meeting new people eager to share something for the passion of it are what made Without's message become part of my life. It is the best feeling ever.
