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The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirsten Chuba sat down with star and producer Annalaura di Luggo and creative consultant Stanley Isaacs to discuss their documentary 'Napoli Eden' in a 'THR Presents' Q&A powered by Vision Media.
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00:05Hi, I'm Kirsten Chuba and thank you for joining The Hollywood Reporter Presents exclusive Q&A with
00:10Anna-Laura De Logo and Stanley Isaacs from Napoli Eden. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah,
00:16so Anna-Laura, to get started, how did you kind of come up with the idea for these
00:21art projects that are featured in the film? The idea came out because the municipality
00:26of my city of Naples gave me the chance to have a public art exposition. At the same time, I
00:34met
00:34the Italian Aluminium Recycling Consortium and they were observing my artistic research
00:43and they proposed me to do something with recycled aluminum. So I thought that God gave me the chance
00:50to match these two things and I suddenly understood that that could be a great idea to use this
00:57recycled aluminum to, you know, to tell a rebirth and like also a new project that was going towards
01:07light. The world aluminum comes from Latin, that it comes from ad lumen, so it's a journey towards
01:14the light. And so this light always has fascinated me during my artistic research because I always try
01:21to use art to enlighten people on topics that are not very well known, so are a little bit ignored.
01:29So
01:31I chose aluminum because aluminum is a very good, important symbol of the circular economy and of
01:40a concept of a concept of sustainability. And because it's the only material that can be recycled
01:47forever. So it never ends the time it can be recycled. So I went in this amazing discarded deposit of
01:57aluminum and I really found like an extraordinary atmosphere and I thought, you know, it was really
02:05magnificent, it was a magnificent situation where all these shiny, like silver shining materials were like
02:18calling me to do something new. And so I decided that the raw material had to be at the center
02:25of my
02:25artistic research to demonstrate how transforming this discarded aluminum in a work of art could also
02:34symbolize a real rebirth, not only of Naples, but I think of the global world. Because this project starts
02:43from Naples, but I think that it wants to destroy all the geographical barriers and wants to bring a
02:51connection, especially in this period that, you know, we have this social distancing. So the idea is really to use
02:58the
02:58material and to put it like public art to get people to have an awareness of a really a big
03:07change. So everybody can have a change. As the raw material becomes work of art,
03:12every one of us can become a work of art. Nobody can be excluded by the society. And this is
03:19the reason why in my work, I wanted to include the kids from a very particular area of my city
03:27that is called
03:28Spanish quarters. And these are kids that come from very difficult situations. So they are unprivileged. And, and so they
03:38are also at risk, let me say, because they live in the middle of the street.
03:42So I thought it was very important to have with them a moment of brothership, you know, and, and so
03:52I, I, I tried to be a leader with them, and bringing them in a new world in a new
03:58dimension, where they could become the builder of not only of this, one of my artwork that was the Christmas
04:06tree, but of a concept of a concept of really of rebirth.
04:10And how did the documentary surrounding the whole project come together?
04:16I was doing my artistic project, and suddenly I met the director that is Bruno Colella, and he proposed me
04:24to do this documentary, he thought that this work was amazing. And also he was super attracted by my research
04:32of eyes, you can see behind me, an eye because the eyes has always been the center of my artistic
04:38research.
04:38So he built up a very good team. So with Blasco Giurato as a cinematographer, and Eugenio Benato for the
04:48music, Mirko Garrone for the editing. And so you know, this amazing team built up to create like following the
04:56real story. So in this, in this project, everything really appeared.
05:02But the most important thing for me was when Stanley entered in this project, because you know, and I wanted
05:11him to get in as a creative consultant, because he had a total vision of like the movie business with
05:19an international vision. And so I thought it was, he's a very, very good friend, we love each other, we
05:26speak daily.
05:27And so through his support, and also Greg Ferris, that is another very good friend that has been supporting me
05:34in this amazing path, going from Naples to LA, I think, you know, like the team is the movie, I
05:42think, and all the team really wanted to have this project go ahead, in order to symbolize a really a
05:50big change of mentality. So everybody was really believing in this new idea.
05:55Yeah.
05:56And Stanley, do you kind of want to talk a little bit about the work that you did on this
05:59project?
06:02Well, I was I'm actually if you saw it, I mean, at the very tail end of the film, and
06:07Laura and I are like brother and sister, and we're working on a bunch of other projects.
06:13And when I was there film when the filming of the documentary was taking place, we discussed the concept, and
06:21the vision of the film. And I think the thing that I brought more than anything was a more broader
06:29perspective of what the film needed to have in order to play to a more international audience.
06:35Because it was almost to Napoli eccentric, you know, and I wanted to broaden the horizons of the story. And
06:45we discussed the concepts. And so Anna Laura was very gracious. And she said, Okay, what do you think?
06:53And so every day, we would be on a call and on a WhatsApp, and she would be sending me
07:00various cuts of the movie. And literally, I re edited the picture.
07:04She was in Naples, and I was in Miami, and we were doing it long distance via computer. And it
07:12was a rather interesting process. And I would much have preferred being next to her in the editing room, doing
07:19it in person, it would have been easier. But it was a good it was a good thing to do.
07:25And I think the results speak for themselves.
07:30Totally. And Naples is kind of such a main character in this film and kind of provides a really great
07:35backdrop. How did you kind of want to highlight the city?
07:39Well, that was Anna Laura's whole vision. I mean, she was, you know, she was contacted by the city. And
07:45that's one of my favorite places in the world. It was interesting, too. And one of the things that's really
07:50fascinating, as great as the images are and the experiences in the documentary,
07:55when you were there, when you were there and participating in the art, because the one thing about the work
08:02in the film is everything is interactive. And when you were actually there and standing in the cube, or in
08:10front of that Christmas tree,
08:12there were, there was a spiritual connection that I had never experienced anything like that before in my life in
08:20terms of art. And it was literally, you could see it was a love letter to the city of Naples,
08:25which I love myself. And that's Anna Laura's birthplace. It just, it was magical. I think there was a blessing
08:31that we had while we were working on the film. I really do. I think there was a divine intervention.
08:36I've always said to Anna Laura, Rome has a better press agent than Naples.
08:42Naples is a much more interesting city than Rome for a lot of reasons. I think the character of the
08:48city is extraordinary. And we were trying to bring forth some of that and show the people and the camaraderie
08:55and the citizens and, and the appreciation they have for the work.
08:59And Anna Laura, what was kind of the response in Naples to you doing this? Did it get the conversation
09:04started about sustainability that you were kind of looking to have?
09:08Yes, I think that really, it was very, very important for my city. And especially for a change of mentality
09:16of the kids, because I think that the youngsters are the one who need to change the world.
09:20So including them and creating a project that was of the city. So the function of art was becoming also
09:29a moment of socialization with all the people. I think that has been a very, very important thing.
09:35And I would like to underline one of my pieces of art that for me was very significant. In addition
09:43to the Christmas tree that I made with these kids from the Spanish quarters, I created one work that was
09:50like a really change of mentality because not only I used aluminum, recycled aluminum, but also like luminous eyes of
09:58the people living in that area.
10:00So that was done to fight again, the prejudice of the people living there, you know, that has always been
10:07mentioned in a bad way.
10:09So these eyes of people who have been in jail, who have been like in drugs and very, very difficult
10:15situation were demonstrating how you always can get up from a bad situation and look with luminous eyes towards the
10:23future.
10:24And more of all, they became a symbol, not only for their own life, but for all the collectivity. So
10:30everybody is able to have a change.
10:33So this is the reason why I wanted these luminous eyes to have a great impact in this area.
10:39And for example, one thing that was for me extraordinary with this young kids, obviously the interaction maybe is based
10:50on physical interaction.
10:52So they are not used obviously to have very intellectual confrontations among them.
10:58And so I had to use the same system. So in the, in the documentary, you see that I'm really
11:05almost fighting with the, with the guy.
11:09And at the moment he wants to hit me, I tell him, whatever you do at this moment, you, you
11:16can do nothing to me because I have already forgiven you.
11:19So at that moment, forgiveness becomes the symbol of a change because, you know, it destroys any barrier.
11:26You cannot do nothing. If there is any more hate, if there is, and everything disappears.
11:31So you are like naked in front of love and in front of welcoming.
11:36That was the moment when I really got their attention and they decided to become my team and I was
11:43the leader.
11:44So it was very important because at that moment we became one unique group and we were working towards the
11:52same direction to create something that had to mean a change for, for Naples, but for the total world, because
12:01pointing the attention on the environment.
12:04So recycling and giving the sense of something that goes from raw materials to a work of art, it's a
12:12very big transformation that everybody can have.
12:15And you shot this before the pandemic, right?
12:19Yes, I did.
12:22Yeah. How does that kind of affect how you think about it now?
12:25Because obviously we're in a very different world than when you were there.
12:29We were, um, look, I can, uh, for me, I was supposed to be going, I was scheduled to go
12:36in last March because the movie was supposed to open then all over Italy.
12:41We were going to do press and everything.
12:43And, and I couldn't wait to go back to Naples.
12:47And, um, then that thing hit us and none of us were allowed to go anywhere.
12:52Uh, so it was, it was, it was distressing, it was frustrating.
12:59Um, and we were planning on doing another project also last year, which got sidetracked because no travel was allowed.
13:09Um, and quite honestly, I can't wait for the moment we can get on a plane and, and Laura and
13:16I can reconnect, uh, and begin the next thing that we're working on.
13:21Um, um, but it's been stressful for everybody.
13:24I mean, but it is interesting.
13:26It had the, had the project, had the, the, the artwork been created during the time of the pandemic.
13:34Most, I don't think most of the people that got to appreciate it live and in person would have had
13:39the opportunity.
13:40I mean, you saw the joyous, you know, in the film, all the joyousness that went on and the, and
13:45the people coming by and the events that were taking place, they wouldn't have happened.
13:50And, and, and so in a way we were, again, we were blessed.
13:53We got under the wire, if you will.
13:56Um, uh, and, uh, I just hope to work for all of us that, uh, we can all start to
14:02be with one another in person rather than doing this zoom stuff that we're doing.
14:07Wouldn't it be nice if we're all in LA doing a Q and a live and in person.
14:13One day, hopefully soon, you got to think positive.
14:18It's going to happen soon.
14:19I just see.
14:20So we're, you just, you know, we're, uh, we're going to, we're going to get through it.
14:25And I think the inspiration that Anna Laura has and, and the recycling and the bringing forth of the, the,
14:31the energy of people and, and turning their lives around.
14:34There's a perfect example of what we're capable of doing once we set our minds to doing something.
14:39So it's all positive.
14:41It's all great.
14:42Yeah.
14:43And I think also this situation gave us also the chance to have, uh, this, uh, this documentary enlightened.
14:51Because maybe now more than before we do need, especially like a rebirth, we do need to understand the essential
15:01things of the world.
15:03And we do need like the environmental safeguard and the social inclusion that are the most important things to create,
15:11you know, a healthy society and a healthy world because everybody should lead in the same direction.
15:17So from my side, obviously I didn't have the willing to change the world because nobody can, can do that.
15:24But I think that small things, more interventions sometimes, uh, give a small signal that everybody can, can use it
15:33as a, as an example.
15:35So, uh, from my part, leading these guys and becoming a guide has been very important because it was not
15:42only for the movie, for the time that we had the documentary,
15:45but it was very important because I'm still the, the, their point of reference.
15:50So I know everybody of them, what he's doing, what they would like to do, their difficulties.
15:56So it's very nice to, that, you know, this kind of project destroyed all the social barriers and, and really
16:04now Naples has been, uh, um, also like there has been a very, very big press around the movie because
16:11everybody was, were, was attracted, but by this new idea, by using a material to show something that can change.
16:20One thing I want to say that I, that I meant to say earlier, when you asked me about the,
16:26what my participation was, one of the things that fascinated me the most overall was being able to examine the
16:34creative process through the mind of the artist as the process was going along, which is something we don't necessarily
16:41always get to see.
16:43Most of the time you see, most of the time you see a piece of art, it's finished and you,
16:46you look at it and you appreciate it or you don't for whatever reason, but very rarely do we get
16:51to follow an artist as they're going through the process of creating their art and their inspiration.
16:57And how you go from concept to completion, uh, which I think the documentary does a pretty good job of
17:05showing and giving us insight, uh, into the mind of the creative artist, which I was very happy to be
17:12part of.
17:14Yeah.
17:15Um, and Anna Laura, I know for a long time you've kind of used art to comment on social issues.
17:21Um, what's kind of the value of using art to comment on these bigger picture things, especially something like sustainability?
17:28I think that yes, art is a very important tool.
17:31So as you said before, I always use it to, you know, to enlighten on social issues.
17:37So one of my previous work was on the eyes of the blind.
17:40So I wanted to enlighten the world of blinds to get a different perspective of the perception of the world.
17:47So this is the reason why I thought that Naples could be like a starting place, um, you know,
17:55using a very happy way of narration.
17:59So I wanted to use like the vitality and the colors of my city to give a message that was
18:05like not, not boring.
18:07Like sometimes these messages instead arriving with happiness, arriving with the inclusion, arriving, um, with, uh, with like all together
18:17to, to, to get a better world, to get a better situation.
18:20And, uh, so I, I think it was, uh, really great to discover this material and, uh, and use it
18:28to, to, to, to start this new adventure.
18:30Sometimes in my life, I adore challenges.
18:33So this for me was an extreme challenge because I'm never in my life so, uh, discarded piece of aluminum
18:40and I never saw, uh, these deposits.
18:43So, and, and so I think that in the path of an artist should always be a present new adventure,
18:50something that is not part of your life.
18:52So the, I also have been at the Venice Biennale, I was invited there and also there I made a
18:59new work instead of using the wood, engraved wood, and I use it like, uh, it was called Genesis.
19:06So I started exploring the Genesis, uh, through this other material, through painting, through engraving the wood.
19:14So I think it's, it's amazing how an artist can always use the, all the kinds of media to put
19:21them together and to give a new perspective of the world.
19:24Um, and something that I thought was interesting about this documentary is it kind of feels almost like a scripted
19:29film in parts.
19:30It's not necessarily the typical documentary that we're used to seeing with lots of sit down interviews and things.
19:36Um, how did you guys kind of come up with that approach?
19:39I think that the idea, yes, was, uh, to create something that, uh, uh, was following my life, but, uh,
19:47in a very high level way.
19:49So also the cinema cinematographer, he's great.
19:52He's Blasco Jurato.
19:53So, and it's true what you say, it seems that is, uh, uh, it's more like a movie, but it's
19:59not.
19:59It's truly, I was, uh, building my pieces and I was, uh, when I had the, the opening, that was
20:06the official opening that was for the city and for the documentary.
20:10So it really got step by step all the moments of, of my life.
20:15And so I think, Stanley, what do you think about this concept?
20:20Well, no, I love the concept.
20:21I actually, I thought it was rather unique, um, because it was, it captured the spontaneity and the creativity and
20:31the energy and the vibrance in a way that most of the time, and I've made other documentaries.
20:37And most of the time you're right.
20:39It's basically, you sit down, you talk to people, you interview them, you show archival footage, or you show some,
20:45you shoot, you could, this is a hybrid.
20:47Um, it's a true documentary because everything that happened, happened.
20:52Um, and the, the, the, the beauty of it is the characters in the story are so vibrant that it
21:00seems like a dramatic piece.
21:02But these are the real personalities, these are the real people, this is how they behave every single day.
21:08Um, and, and again, part of it, I think, is the energy of the city of Naples.
21:13There's this magical, I keep using that word, that there's a magical quality to that, to that marvelous city that
21:19brings out so much joy and wonderment.
21:22One of the funniest thing is when my husband, he says, I have to tell you something.
21:26I have to tell you that I really don't understand what you're doing.
21:29That's the reality.
21:30He was saying that kind of thing.
21:32He thought really, he didn't understand me.
21:34So that was part of this documentary because it's also like the way as all the artists are really, it's
21:41very difficult for them to be comprehended.
21:44And so every time that I start a new project, everybody around me thinks that I'm totally crazy.
21:50So you saw me walking in the middle of the city and everybody was saying, who is this mad person?
21:56What is she doing?
21:57He's an ophthalmologist.
21:59She's a policeman.
22:00She's a journalist.
22:01What is she?
22:01What is she doing?
22:03Anybody could understand what I was doing.
22:06So, and I think that's a great challenge because you have to leave people the time to get into the
22:12project at the moment it becomes of everybody.
22:15So now I'm super happy because I think that Napoli Eden is not anymore my project, but it became a
22:21project of the collectivity and so really a symbol of change.
22:26Interesting.
22:27I put, and Allura's comment is funny because I wanted to put that whole opening, that whole sequence right at
22:34the opening of the film.
22:35When her, when she can't understand why people don't understand her and she's talking to her husband and he quite
22:41admits to her, honey, I don't understand what you're doing either.
22:46And he lives with her and he's known her for all these years.
22:49And I thought it was just so perfect because most artists are misunderstood for one reason or another.
22:57And, and here was a case where we could dramatize it in reality in a documentary form.
23:04So it was, I, I, I thought we needed to lead the movie off with that moment, which is what
23:08we did.
23:09Yeah.
23:10Your husband plays a very fun role in this kind of throughout.
23:16And like you said, you definitely had like some skeptics that you encountered along the way.
23:20Were there any challenges in kind of getting people from the city to like participate in this project with you?
23:26Yes, I think it was a great challenge to bring people to, to participate to, to this project.
23:32And, uh, the, the best thing that I think that I remember about this project were, were the spontaneous, uh,
23:41reaction of the people, especially of kids.
23:44That for me was something unbelievable.
23:46I saw kids escaping from their moms and going underneath the arch, luminous arch and going up and down, up
23:54and down hundreds of times.
23:55And because they wanted to be underneath there, you know, so it, it was so nice and expressive how everybody
24:02could perceive this work of art in a different way.
24:05And for example, the Christmas tree was amazing because it got, it got a moment of interaction with the city
24:11because everybody was hanging on the Christmas tree, their thoughts.
24:16So not only my Christmas tree, but was the Christmas tree of everybody.
24:20So hanging thoughts and, and hanging wishes for the Christmas was a very nice thing.
24:25And so it's like an artist donates an artwork to everybody becomes a collective work.
24:31And also in the work geminus, the one with the eyes, people were around and watching the eyes going and
24:37watching their self inside the mirrors of the piece and watching the person in front, the person in front of
24:43them, because there were some connection tubes who allowed it people to watch from the other side.
24:49Um, and I know you touched on this a little bit, but how did you kind of decide whose eyes
24:54you wanted to photograph?
24:56I was meeting a lot of people around my city and I really wanted to discover people who had a
25:02very, very hard, uh, life had had.
25:05So I thought that they could became a real symbol for all the others, because I think that the great
25:13message is to get up.
25:15You know, everybody can, can fail.
25:18Everybody can have problems in life, but you know, the ability is to stand up and to, to go ahead
25:24and never stop.
25:25Never give up.
25:26So they were a really, really great symbol of that.
25:29Let me tell you that I've been working also in a, in a prison with the underage prisoners.
25:36So also there I was discovering the world of these kids trying to understand their feeling beyond their crimes committed.
25:44And so after that experience was very sad for me, this is the reason why I strongly wanted to go
25:50in a preventive way to scout the kids.
25:53At the moment they are in the, in risk.
25:57So this is the reason why I went in the middle of the street and I went alone because I
26:02didn't want to be introduced.
26:03I didn't want to seem to be the person that was imposed by someone else.
26:08And I wanted to be accepted for myself.
26:10And so I said, I can do this project only if these, if these kids understand what I want to
26:16do and they understand the love that I want to put and I want to share in this project.
26:22And then just kind of last thing, but what do you want people to take away from this?
26:27I would like them to take away a real message.
26:33So a journey towards the light.
26:34I think everybody should watch the light.
26:38Never, never watch the darkness.
26:41You know, everybody of us is made of a part of darkness and a part of light.
26:45So this is the reason why the claim of the movie that was suggested by Stanley and by Greg Ferris,
26:53it's like a journey towards the light.
26:55All my works lead to the light.
26:57You know, I have a very strong belief in God.
27:00So I think that, you know, leading to the light, it means leading to God.
27:05And this is for me very, very important.
27:08And I think that watching the light is also like an awareness of a different perspective of things.
27:16So fighting again, prejudice.
27:19So anybody can be, you know, excluded.
27:23We have to be one unique world and we have to care about the living planet and we have to
27:30care about others.
27:31So the message is all together for the better world.
27:35Which is why I can't tell you how great it is to work with her.
27:41This is an extraordinary woman.
27:43So that's all I'm going to say.
27:45No, Stanley is an extraordinary woman.
27:47We love it.
27:49But thank you.
27:51Thank you for the opportunity to let me work on this project.
27:54No, I think it's the same.
27:56We are really spiritual connected.
27:58And from the first time that we met, we got in a very, very strong soul matching, I think.
28:06I would say.
28:08I would say.
28:09All right.
28:10Well, thank you, Anna, Laura and Stanley.
28:12And thank you for joining us for the Hollywood Reporter Presents screening series.
28:16Thanks.
28:17Thanks.
28:18Thanks.
28:18Thanks.
28:21Thanks.