This is an interview with one of the filmmakers of Versipellis, a non-profit film project featuring a documentary about lycanthropy or the ability of people to turn into wolves. It is based upon classic European legends and lore and is a full immersion in werewolf myth from prehistory to today. All profits from the documentary will be used to fund world conservation.
Who are the people behind this film?
Francesco Cortonesi and I (Michele Cogliati) have very different careers. Francesco is a writer, scriptwriter, and high school teacher while I am a wildlife photographer, field researcher, and independent documentarist. We both share common interest for horror and we are definitely great werewolf fans.
Why a horror movie?
Well, actually the Versipellis project is much more than that. It’s a documentary featuring werewolfism. It has of course some horror ingredients but what we want to offer is a complete understanding of the werewolf myth: where does it come from, the historical cases (there are so many!), scientific theories, legends and folklore compared with wolf behavior. And we searched for medics, zoologists, folklore experts and criminologists to enrich the movie with interviews.
We believe the subject is of great interest for it embraces many obscure aspects from the human being. Apart from the myth, in which fur and fangs are of a secondary aspect, the most important change affects the mind. In this perspective the werewolf is a very modern monster: just think about serial killers. If you were an ignorant and poor, living in a small village surrounded by extensive woods in the middle age, how would you call someone who wonders around killing and eating people? A werewolf, indeed. And what about Little Red Hood?
What is special about your script?
As werewolf fans we have always been looking for something different, something that could offer a more comprehensive view about our favorite monster. The true myth is often ignored and Hollywood has a big role in the werewolf misunderstanding.
We may be wrong but we do believe a feature documentary, together with proper interviews with experts and discarding Hollywood’s cliché, could result in a great interest for what we consider the most ancient and fearsome monstrous creature ever. Even because the werewolf myth, as mentioned above, has many aspects in common with true historical episodes and reports.
Where did you get funding to shoot the film?
We decided to make this a non-profit project. Versipellis’ team agree to work for minimum charge and both directors will direct the documentary for free. Of course effective production cost need full coverage and we hope to find investors and sponsors in addiction to private donations.
Article comments