“Obviously you can’t leave out the hard stuff; early on I did say to him ‘we’re going to have to cover it’ and he wasn’t very happy.” – Director Madeleine Martiniello.

On the eve of flying to Sydney to present Palazzo di Cozzo director Madeleine Martiniello took time out from her busy Covid-impacted schedule to discuss her remarkable bio-doc about Melbourne furniture icon Franco Cozzo.

Here’s the review of the film.

Please enjoy.

Interview index
00:00 The unfortunate truth about the minds of critics;
00:40 The doco is so hard to fault; what was missed?;
01:10 What was left out;
03:18 How much was shot over three years;
04:06 Archive footage;
04:25 Why did he agree to make e film;
05:40 The understanding from the outset;
07:30 Building trust;
09:05 Emblematic of post-war migrant experience;
10:45 “Whiteness changes over time”;
11:35 Will the film play beyond Melbourne?;
12:30 Win-Win situation, universal appeal;
14:12 What did Franco Cozzo think of the film?;
15:10 Researching the film;
16:00 Sifting for footage; lost segment;
17:48 Quick bio;
18:30 Applying principles from her VCA course;
18:50 Relationship with subject;
19:25 Friendship with Franco.

Interview conducted on Wednesday 24 November 2021