Mamma Roma

I started with the ’60s films, from Accattone on. Mamma Roma, Hawks and Sparrows, they really informed my work. I was reading a lot of Genet, a lot of Burroughs. I got really into Pasolini. And these were the films that were important for me, for my work, to define the direction I was going in.

Yes, exactly. I’m thinking of Pasolini’s first films, like ‘Accattone’ or ‘Mamma Roma.’ Because for us, when we were making our first films, we didn’t want to go in a very elaborate aesthetic direction. We didn’t want to try to invent new film language. We wanted to tell a story with a very straightforward approach, very direct, very close to the character, to what they’re feeling and living, so we can make the spectator experience the same sensation as the characters. So for that, Pasolini’s early films were very, very influential. When we made ‘La Promesse,’ we were influenced by ‘Accattone’ and ‘Mamma Roma.’