I’ve always been attracted to the theatre and cinema. When I was young, my ambition was to be an actor – and in my teens, I had fun making costumes and sets with my friends. We’d experiment with light, trying to copy our favourite films, such as Sunset Boulevard and Tobacco Road.
I moved to Rome in search of a break in the film industry. I’d take photos of the starlets from the Cinecittà film studio to earn a living, developing the film myself in the boarding house I was staying in. Ultimately, it was photography rather than acting that I pursued, but aspects of my first great interest – such as film noir and the dreamlike vision of Fellini – influenced my work. I’ve always looked at who I had in front of my camera with a cinematic eye.
