Two dysfunctional Italian brothers have their lives transformed when their baby niece is abandoned on their doorstep. They’re given only one instruction by their disgraced sister – preserve the girl’s innocence.
Seventeen years later the Uncles go to extremes to do just that.
Shot entirely on location in Italy, Gli Zii (The Uncles) is a darkly comic, modern silent short film, about two brothers Aldo and Enzo, their beautiful niece Bella and the extreme measures the uncles take to protect her innocence.
As well as our British cast and crew, we also had a strong Italian prescence – both in front of and behind the camera. We were incredibly lucky hiring our camera kit and lighting from FilmPRO in Padua, who not only gave us a brilliant deal on the Red Epic, but who provided fantastic support and advice during pre-production and on set.
We were also very lucky having the assistance and support of the local town’s mayor and police department, not to mention the nearby Ristorante da Nara, who prepared and delivered to set fantastic lunches every day.
A short interview (in English) with the producer, Andy Price recorded this afternoon in Barga Vecchia
Although we wanted Gli Zii to have a ‘timeless’ feel, for production purposes we chose 1957 as our year of reference.
We first came together to discuss the project in January 2012 and immediately decided to forge ahead and shoot only four months later in May.
Seven drafts of the script later, with storyboard, schedule, budget, costumes and props and finally casting complete, we were ready to go.
We flew the majority of our cast and crew to Italy from London for the ten day shoot near Coreglia, high up in the hills of north-west Tuscany.
The location was incredible – it could have been purpose built for the film, complete with furniture, props and stunning vistas.
Proiezione del cortometraggio girato nelle nostre montagne “Gli Zii” in programma sabato 19 luglio alle ore 21 presso il Teatro Comunale “A.Bambi”
Gli Zii (the Uncles) – Gerard Monaco – 2013 – 21’35” – UK – their site is here
