“A poet friend told me an artist is independent when no one is able to make money off of him. There is no way someone will ever make money with Bruco.” Those are the words of Antonio D’Alfonso, writer, editor, publisher, filmmaker and general all-around gadfly whose first feature-length movie, shown last fall at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, will be screened this Sunday at Cinémathèque québécoise.
Fluently trilingual (Italian being language #3), D’Alfonso has blazed a trail through both Montreal and Toronto with his 32-year stint as the publisher of Guernica Editions. If that weren’t enough, he has written numerous books of poetry, fiction and essays — in all three languages. Yet film has always been his first love. In fact, he is about to complete his doctoral thesis in film at the University of Toronto. At the same time, he fully understands how difficult it is to break into the movie industry.
“Politically, film is confined by its nationalistic tradition,” he says, warming up to his subject. “Financially, it’s imprisoned by the bank’s directors. Artistically, it’s controlled by television and popcorn. Attempting to work in film without these parameters is quasi-impossible. Yet we can do it.
“Film is the fastest of the media. That pleasure one senses when seeing the image rise in between two verses of poetry lasts ninety minutes in film. Your mind is constantly grasping images and savouring the pleasure of catching the fleeting moment.”
The genesis for Bruco, which D’Alfonso describes as “being about difference,” came from a multi-voiced poem he wrote – and which he intended as a film. That was back in 1989 and it took another 16 years before the idea came to fruition, thanks in part to friends, including actors Jennifer Dale, Nick Mancuso and Lazar, who agreed to help.
“Bruco is a totally independent film,” D’Alfonso says. “Everyone worked for free, for a meal and a glass of wine. The original script was about twenty-five pages which I gradually reworked. Nothing is improvised. A writer wants to become a butterfly. A man wants to change his life. He is at the peak of his career, then something breaks. He meets the Minotaur. Roland Barthes wrote somewhere that if you were to analyze all works of art they would contain one hidden meaning: ‘I love you’.”
Unlike many who spend their lives in seclusion with the written word and who often scoff at the flamboyance of film people, D’Alfonso has nothing but respect for the actors with whom he has worked. In fact, he didn’t even have to go calling to get people to take part in Bruco.
“They knocked at my door,” he says. “They heard about this weird film project and they wanted to participate. Actors are some of the nicest people in the world of arts. I have always been able to have sittings with major film people discussing a film idea of mine.
“I am preparing another feature film, produced in a similar way. A few weeks ago ten people sat in my dining room reading the lines of the dialogue I had written. It was an absolutely breath-taking experience for me. Actors were there, knowing they were not being paid, but that they wanted to participate in something they never would have a chance to work in.”
D’Alfonso finds that one of the major problems for independent filmmakers – and this relates to Bruco – lies in finding a way to get their product to the marketplace.
“There is no place to show your film,” he says. “Even independent film festivals are often conducted like major film festivals, only showing miniature copycat films screaming to be bigger than they really are. I’m not worried.” Whether it be a film or a book, he believes (a work of art) will eventually find a home. “It might not be today, or en masse, but it will find its resting place.”
Despite all the problems faced by independent filmmakers, D’Alfonso is keen to get started on a new project: “I want to direct a comedy. After having delved in the dire side of things, I can’t wait to direct a good physical comedy. I’m looking for a story to direct, and as soon as I find it … I’ll do it.”
With friends like his around, the project seems a good bet.
Bruco , a multi-lingual film (English, Serbian, French, Italian), is being shown this coming Sunday, January 17th, at 1:30 pm at the Cinémathèque québécoise. Salle Claude-Jutra. 335 boul. De Maisonneuve est.
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It’s refreshing to know that there are some out there who are actually doing decent things in the film industry for the regular shmo. I haven’t been to see a movie or even rented a decent one for ages. Your article is now prompting me to go see Bruco on Sunday. I am grateful that there is someone in the city who is keeping an ear to the ground, giving us updates about what’s good on. Keep up the good work.