Hello all! I'm sorry it's been almost two weeks since I posted. I knew that filming would be busy, but underestimated the extent of that busyness. When Giacomo, the cinematographer for the project, arrived from Milano last Friday, we hit the ground running. He is 27, originally from Palermo, and oodles of fun to work with. We communicate in a humorous mix of English and Italian, and he is patient with my slow verb conjugations and blatant linguistic errors. (He guffawed when I told him that "I own a jacket that rains" instead of "I own a rain jacket"). I know not to ask him too many questions (in either English or Italian) when he is filming, as he switches into full-concentration right brain mode, and I can tell he needs the mental space to think about all the details of the shoot: the lighting, the audio, the focus, the camera settings, which equipment to use, etc. It's incredible to me that he does it all by himself (though I occasionally help him out with audio). But through observation and questions after filming, I hope to pick up a lot from him by the end of the year. And we bond when driving through the Sicilian hills between filming locations, blaring Italian and English music and laughing over attempted translations of lyrics.
Umberto is the fourth member of our team, and is a professional photographer from Sicily whom Fabrizia has recruited to take photos for a book she wants to write on the project. He is a sweet man, very kind to me, and is the most helpful with my Italian. We had a two hour conversation in the car, on the way to Favara to shoot the cemetary festival for the La Festa di Morti, about theology and church politics that left me excited (that I could communicate effectively about it all in Italian) but also rather tired. It's amazing how much linguistic effort drains your energy. Speaking and reading English with Fiona, my Scottish friend here, or with guests, has become a delicious luxury. But the small victories I make in Italian give me great pleasure. And the motivation to speak and understand better is strong, as the more capable I get, the more confident I will become about my involvement in the film, the interviews, the editing, etc.
We spent Saturday through the following Sunday filming every day, in several different locations on the island. We did an interview and recipe shoot with Maria Grammatico, a famous pastry chef in Erice; an interview with the American author, Mary Simeti, in the countryside outside of Palermo; one with a well-known anthropologist in his flat in Palermo; an interview and recipe shoot with a woman in Favara; festival shooting in the cemetery of Favara (near Agrigento); landscape filming in Trapani, Palermo, and here in Regaleali, (and a few other locations). It's wonderfully engaging work, seeing the island as we film and meeting the various characters who will shape this documentary. It's also mentally taxing and sometimes frustrating, as doing a film in English for the first time would be hard enough. Trying to do it Italian is downright exhausting. Occasionally I feel like vexed child, as I have so much to input, but lack the language skills to express my opinions. But that will come with time.
For lots more information and pictures about the first filming session, check out my professional blog, here: www.sacredflavorsofsicilyfilm.weebly.com. I am spacing out my posts about the filming weekly. With the first festival complete, we will now transition to Santa Lucia, Natale, and Carnvale (in December and February) and my job for the next month will be to plan and promote. Giacomo will be editing the first film, which we will use as a teaser film for another fundraising campaign (and to promote the film to film festivals). Fabrizia will be in the USA for two weeks, so I'll have two weeks to spend at Case Vecchie working, hiking, painting, and sleeping, in preparation for the next flurry of filming next month. (Trying to emulate the cat pictured below).