We met Elly and Judi Casagrande, the founders of Super8, a format designed to satisfy both cinema enthusiasts and newcomers.
Super8 is based on the passion of Elly and Judi, film enthusiasts who have transformed their personal interest into a moment of dynamic and itinerant discussion and dialogue. Starting with the simple idea of sharing their passion with others, they have created a unique format that combines film screenings with live musical performances, creating a space for conversation and cultural exchange. In this interview, the two curators of the Super8 project tell us about the origins of their project, their vision for the future, and their story through the scenes of the films that inspired their passion.
The next Super8 events will be a selection of 12 films with a summer flavour that will accompany you until September, screened in two suggestive outdoor locations: the first in Venice and the second in Portogruaro. Among the films scheduled are Climax, Fallen Angels, Paris Texas, Pulp Fiction and many others. To keep up to date with the latest news, follow the Super8 Instagram profile
The next Super8 event will be the screening of Atlantis by Yuri Ancarani on Thursday 23rd May at the Excess Hotel in Venice, starting at 7pm.
How did you come up with the idea of Super 8? Who are the ‘founders’ of Super8?
The idea for Super8 originated from our deep passion for cinema. Me, Elly, and my sister Judi have always spent hours discussing and debating the intricate details of the films we love. Over time, we felt the need to share this passion with others, to bring our discussions and experiences into a wider and more accessible context. So, as we grew up and each of us had our own experiences, we cultivated this idea within ourselves until we turned it into reality and founded Super8. The first intention was to create an inclusive space where film lovers and the merely curious could gather, and above all to offer an alternative to the usual entertainment options in the city.
Although our first event was a testing ground, it was received with great enthusiasm: many people complimented us and this strengthened our conviction that Super8 meets a real need in our local youth culture scene.
As Super8, we are happy to have been perceived as something new. After all, that is what we have always strived for in our lives.
How does a Super8 event work?
Super8 is a format that explores a theme each month on a dedicated Sunday through the screening of a selection of films, ranging from auteur masterpieces to modern classics, out-of-release titles and independent productions. The choice of theme is crucial as it influences both the selection of the film and the musical genre that accompanies the second act of the event. The artistic direction is entirely our own, based on our film knowledge and preferences. We are also often inspired by special events, such as anniversaries of film releases, that happen during that month. However, in order to avoid limiting the choices to our personal tastes, we are increasingly involving the community: we have created a form through which viewers can suggest entire film reviews, allowing us to actively involve the audience in the programming and better understand their tastes. This isn’t a competition, we want to encourage everyone to critique the film and share their opinions with us on stage during the event. So far, we have organised three events: one dedicated to Japanese cinema with the screening of Perfect Blue by Satoshi Kon, another with the Suburban Fury and the viewing of Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz, and finally an event in collaboration with a music label from Treviso and a musician/composer who soundtracked the short film Film by Schneider (script by Samuel Beckett) during a live performance.
Our screening schedule is announced in advance on our Instagram page (@super___otto), not only with details of the upcoming event, but also with insights into the filmmakers and suggestions of other films related to the chosen monthly theme. We want the page to go beyond a mere promotional purpose and become a ‘binder’ of good film tips. In addition, we also use Letterbox, an must-have app for real film fans like us.
What is the contribution of music to the Super8 experience and how does it integrate with the film screening?
In the cinematographic setting of Super8, we do not limit ourselves to the screening of films, but also offer a moment dedicated to music with live performances by artists. Music has always played an influential role in our lives, ever since we were children and our parents took us to see gigs and we danced loudly at home. The image of the one-metre high ‘speakers’ that ‘ embellished’ our living room still makes us smile today.
We usually give priority to local emerging artists, giving them the opportunity to perform and get in front of our audience. We believe that music, like cinema, has the power to create an atmosphere that opens up opportunities for dialogue and exchange, because music often becomes the common theme that allows new networks of knowledge to be created.
What is the significance of creating a place where people can meet, share opinions and experiences?
Creating a space where people can meet and share opinions and experiences has a deep meaning for us. Our main purpose is to promote sharing and collective experience. Nowadays, we have noticed a decrease in personal interactions and an increase in isolation due to the excessive use of digital devices, a habit accentuated, in our opinion, by the pandemic period. However, it has to be acknowledged that while the lockdown has contributed to an addiction to devices, it has also – paradoxically – encouraged a reflection on the importance of sociability, and for some of us, a desire to get out and connect with others in a more authentic way. Furthermore, we have observed that many entertainment locations around us have become standardised and lacking in originality, especially in the music sector. Clubs, for example, often offer a standardised, rather passive experience, focused more on dancing than on listening to and appreciating music. We want to offer an alternative to this trend, creating a space where people can immerse themselves in sophisticated sounds and experience a more fulfilling musical experience. We want to be a place where – we hope – you can be part of a richer and more meaningful form of entertainment.
How does Super8 stand out from other similar formats? What makes it a dynamic and travelling project?
Super8 is distinguished from other similar formats by its nomadic nature. The sense of community is a fundamental value that guided the decision to create a space for sharing before a film and music event. This value is at the core of our project and is reflected in our willingness to build meaningful connections with emerging creative realities. When we call ourselves a travelling project, we mean that we are open to collaboration, but also that we are a constantly evolving and ongoing project.
We like the idea of moving between regions and even locations, creating networks with other projects and artists, not only from the local area, in order to offer our audience new and enriching experiences. We are currently in Friuli, but we are not closing here. We have other collaborations planned that we are very proud of and that will allow us to put ourselves on the map and promote Super8 elsewhere.
What, for you, is the most representative scene in cinema?
Before answering this question, we want to make a remark: choosing a scene that entirely represents cinema and its essence is really difficult. Cinema is a subjective experience; each of us collects scenes from films that have marked us for a particular and personal reason. To avoid upsetting some directors with our presumption to choose only one scene, we take the opportunity to give you two answers (excuse us).
- The opening scene of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona
- The photography of Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita
- The Alienation of Brood by David Cronenberg
- The scene at the cinema in Nuovo Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore
Elly: Persona is a film that is impressive in its ability to deeply explore human identity. The theoretical work on the foreground used as a narrative instance is truly impressive, and the opening scene with the shadows, almost a prélude to the film itself, demonstrates how great the evocative power of images is. La Dolce Vita because it is an icon of 20th century Italian cinema and because of Fellini’s ability to give a visual representation of something as immaterial as emptiness. Then certainly for the black and white photography: who does not remember the suggestive scene at the Trevi Fountain! I wanted to include Brood because it brings back another way of being of cinema: disturbing and provocative. In this film, the sense of alienation borders on disgusting, but conceals profound reflection. The most outstanding scene is that of the ‘delivery’ at the film’s conclusion. Finally, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso for its pathos and Tornatore’s majestic use of colour and music. I would like to refer in particular to the scene in the Cinema in which Salvatore is enchanted by the magic of the cinema. It is a masterpiece that always moves me even after a long time.
- Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, specifically the scene of Eli Wallach running through the cemetery
- The photography of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now
- The violence of the images of Come and See by Ėlem Germanovič Klimov
Judi: As far as the first film is concerned, I am referring to the mise-en-scène that is a real sensory journey that goes beyond the mere film. Thanks to the skilful use of camera and soundtrack, we are catapulted into the action along with Wallach’s character, immersed in the search for treasure. I then chose Apocalypse Now for the cinematography: as the story develops, it becomes darker and darker, abandoning bright colours to embrace black and darkness, thus conveying the descent into the depths of the human. This visual and aural journey also reminded me of the brutal realism of Come and See, which I actually included in the list, where the direct, clean and symmetrical images amplify the violence and malaise of the narrative, leading us to confront the darkest shadows of our existence.
…these are the titles that came to mind today. If you asked us tomorrow, I am quite sure it would be different. For us, going to the cinema is about feeling.
The next Super8 event will be the screening of Atlantis by Yuri Ancarani on Thursday 23rd May at the Excess Hotel in Venice, starting at 7pm.
In the photo: Judi and Elly,two really tight sisters, founder and co-founder of the Super8 project, (courtesy Super8)