Film Name: The Ghosts of Monday
Director: Francesco Cinquemani
Writers: Francesco Cinquemani, Loris Curci (story), Andy Edwards, Barry Keating, Mark Thompson-Ashworth
Starring: Julian Sands, Anthony Skordi, Mark Huberman, Marianna Rosset
Eric Lindstrom is the showrunner of a popular American paranormal TV series: The Ghosts of the New World. Following a tragic accident in the season’s finale, the network pulled the plug. But redemption comes in an offer to travel to Cyprus to make a pilot about the tragically famous Hotel Gula where more than a hundred people died in mysterious circumstances 25 years before. But what begins as just another day at the office eventually turns into a terrifying journey into the unknown…
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Co-Writer/director Francesco Cinquemani a few questions about The Ghosts of Monday which will be making its World Premiere at Arrow FrightFest on Monday 29th August at 10:45hrs
Q. Your film The Ghosts of Monday has been selected to play at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. I am really honoured to participate in such a prestigious festival. The only thing I have learned in life is that in order not to be disappointed you should never expect anything. So I am already happy.
Q. It was a collective effort writing the script. What was the process for you writing the script together and what were some of your influences?
A. It was very interesting and stimulating. Cinema is a collective art and I love working with other people. We wanted to pay homage to the Italian cinema of the 70s. On a structural level it’s nuanced, dreamlike, misty, unhinged. Maybe we exaggerated and it turned out to be too strange. Since the story wasn’t mine, but Loris and Barry’s, I had to adapt it a little to my size like a tailor does with a suit.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The film is an act of love to the great Italian directors of the seventies and a kind of cinema that is no longer made in Italy. For sure there are some from Argento, Fulci, Lado, Dallamano and Bazzoni. But while shooting the film, something else came out as well. De Palma’s influence came out on an unconscious level and Loris noticed it before me. According to Julian (but I don’t believe him), there is also a splash of Polanski and Lynch and finally, I wanted to include a couple of small tributes to Kubrick.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. It is said that you make a film three times, when you write it, when you shoot it and when you edit it. You make the first changes when you arrive on location, then when you rehearse with the actors. Perhaps, on the set, you realize that some things don’t work and you change them while you are shooting. In editing you make other changes and finally others are required by the distribution. For me, making films is an experience in progress that ends only when they take it out of your hands.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. Shooting the film in Cyprus during the lockdown with a great cast and a wonderful crew was a great experience. Speaking of specific scenes my favourites are the elevator murder sequence and a few dialogue scenes between Julian and Marianna or Julian and Mark. The pool scene is also memorable, a bit traumatic for Elva, who powered through it marvellously. I don’t think she’ll forgive me for how cold it was.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. The problems arose from the fact that we shot it during the lockdown. It was all closed and so finding costumes and other simple things became complicated. The funny thing is that when the police stopped us during a night shoot, they told us they though we were drug dealers or prostitutes. At that time of night, that was the only people that walked around that area.
Q. What makes The Ghosts of Monday stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. I don’t think the film is a horror in the strict sense. It’s weird right from the title. Since it has to do with dreams and the unconscious we have tried not to tie ourselves too much to a linear structure. Like some old Italian films, the genre changes as you watch it.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I just hope audiences enjoy the film and enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Lot of. Of different genres. But in the fantastic field I would mention Quinn, a vampire movie with a different bite than other movies of that genre. We should start shooting beginning of the next year.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice would you give them?
A. To insist. Never stop studying. Always try to improve, in terms of writing and film technique. And I believe that sooner or later someone will give him/her the opportunity.
You can find out more about the Festival and purchase tickets here: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
