Dine with Daniele and Lisa Camillo
(Producer, Director and Writer)
Auguri on the release of Balentes and your involvement with the 2018 Lavazza Italian Film Festival, can you tell me about how the story for Balentes came about, initially you had planned to make a very different documentary about Sardinia?
Absolutely, it was going to be more about the fun of the 60’s and 70’s on the Costa Smeralda and instead it turned out be quite dark and about this whole loss of an island paradise.
Do you see Sardinia in a different light now? Is your original pitch still a story you want to tell?
I will still do that. That is my next project. It has changed the way I saw Sardinia, a historical Sardinia and the Sardinian people and that’s why I decided to do something and to really get this story off the island, compensate the people that perished or you know are suffering and clean out these areas.
You previously described Sardinia as a paradise and a fairy tale place, so would your earlier memories of Sardinia have differed from what you have now discovered? Or have you just found a darker side or has it completely changed your ideas of the Island in general?
I think I feel tricked. I feel that you know this paradise island that I remembered was hiding a lot of secrets and it has cast a bit of a shadow onto that childhood that I remember, that was so perfect and so beautiful because I was living in a place of incredible beauty that was pristine as well. I always felt sage and now I’ve realised we weren’t always safe. In 1994 one of the Nate areas is in Costa Smeralda which is now closed and I used to remember some submarines passing by and I just thought it was normal and back then there was a submarine accident and the submarine got stuck in some rocks and it could have exploded and caused a nuclear explosion. But I didn’t know that and nobody knew that back then. And a lot of people still don’t know that. We nearly all could have died because of this.
What has the reaction been from most Sardinians from your film? Were they aware?
They weren’t really aware. They know that there are some NATO areas but they had no idea how bad things actually are. We had a private screening with some friends and people that were involved in the film and that was in June and people were completely shocked and very supportive.
You grew up between Sardinia and Rome, what was that like?
I was studying and living in Rome and spending my summers in Sicilian. In my film, we have a scene where I went to my mum’s village. They have this every year a town party and so they go outside the town into the country and what they do is they all together make a huge pot of soup, it’s kind of like a mutton soup, with a cous cous looking pasta and it’s just amazing. It’s a Sardinian minestra.
What’s your favourite dish of all time?
Culurgiones, basically they’re like a big raviolo and it’s quite chubby and the filling has like a potato paste with pecorino cheese and with some nutmeg. It’s delicious. I don’t make them but my family do and now that I’m back I want to try and make them.
Being a producer, writer and director is there a dish when you are on the go that you make quickly?
Well in Sardinia, what I do is Pane Carasua which is like a crispy flatbread and what you do is you get some slices and cut some thick slices and add some pecorino cheese. It’s simple but it’s delicious.
Being in Australia what is something you miss about Italy?
Oh the food and the culture around food. We go for a big lunch and dinner and we spend hours talking and have that real and deep connection.
What are three must have ingredients you always have?
Fresh tomatoes, basil and olive oil – you can’t go wrong. You can make so many
dishes pasta, bruschetta just with those three with ingredients.
If you could dine with anyone living or dead who would it be and
what would you make?
My great grandfather who migrated to Australia. His name was Celeste, which is my second name and basically he came on a big ship to escape the Second World War and he was a great guitarist and on the boat he was singing to people who were sick and afraid and he used to say to them in Italian “mai paura” never fear, and then they called him “mai paura” which became his nickname. Sadly I didn’t meet him, I wasn’t born but he was a great man. He was very courageous and very Balentes. And I’d make for him in his honour, I’d learn how to make curigione.
Were there any other movies in this yea’rs festival that resonated with you?
I loved Happy as Lazzaro and Dogman.
What are you working on next?
The fun part of Sardinia, Costa Smerelda the history and all the famous characters back then.
Visit the Balentes website for more information about the film and Lisa Camillo’s upcoming projects.