Written and Directed by D I • A L (Alice Gatti & Diego Indraccolo)
Produced by Peter Wilson
Florescence is a visually stunning and thought-provoking exploration of the cultural, biological, and symbolic roles that flowers play in our understanding of gender and sexuality. Blending elements of a fashion film, short documentary, and experimental visual essay, Florescence dismantles the simplistic, often gendered associations that flowers have been assigned throughout history. The eclectic cast adds a rich layer of contemporary perspectives on gender discourse, anchoring the film’s narrative with authenticity and personal insight.
Crafted with a great amount of practical effects and a bit of old school CGI, Florescence juxtaposes serene beauty with violent transformations—drowning, burning, and battering the flowers—as a metaphor for the constraints imposed by societal norms. This relentless and symbolic treatment of flowers serves as a compelling vehicle to question cultural ideals surrounding gender and identity.
ABOUT THE FILMmakers
D I • A L is a directing duo formed by Diego Indraccolo and Alice Gatti in 2015. Alice’s and Diego met on commercial sets. They have covered several different roles in advertising as well as non-commercial productions including producing, directing, cinematography, editing and motion graphics. Their experiences together and the chemistry they have found on set has led them to undertake the roles of “director” together. Their work strives to depict reality in an otherworldly atmosphere. They are also a real life couple and they both share an addiction for "Buffy - The Vampire Slayer".
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH D I • A L
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
We are Diego and Alice, a directing duo working under the name of D I • A L.
Alice: I grew up in a small town near Rome in the late 90s, at the peak of the MTV generation, completely obsessed with music videos.
After studying media design I began working across different roles in production: video maker, editor, motion designer, and assistant director, all experiences that now feed directly into my directing work.
Diego: I was born in Naples, Italy, and moved to London at the age of 18, where I pursued my photographic career.
I worked my way up, from assisting to still photographer, then transition into the video, as a director and cinematographer. While I still work as a cinematographer, I am now focusing primarily on directing work together with Alice.
Tell us about the genesis of Florescence. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
It all started in the simplest way possible. We wanted to do something with a different sensibility from the commercial space we work in.
We love flowers and think they are beautiful. We knew they would make an incredible subject matter, but the more we delved into their biology and cultural significance, the more we realised that we had to layer the project with a sense of significance, something that spoke both to their beauty and their symbolism in a meaningful manner.
The gender and sexual perspective came later on and in hindsight it was inevitable all along.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Florescence and how did you overcome them?
It’s been such a journey.
Funding is always a struggle, which is why we decided to make it into an editorial and self-finance the project. Getting a publication attached means we could have access to models and styling beyond the scope of the project. It also becomes more appealing for getting other professionals involved, both in production and post-production.
Regarding the filming, “Florescence” features many different environments, so one of the main challenges was finding a few locations that could accommodate most scenes without having to move the crew. Aside from the lavender field, we managed to shoot everything in just two locations: one exterior and one interior. We had to get creative and adapt several elements from the original script to make it work.
In the end, every film comes with its share of logistical challenges. It’s part of the game, and also part of the fun.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
Florescence was originally structured and produced to be a fashion editorial for Schon! magazine.
After we started to get an much warmer reception that we had hoped for, we felt that perhaps we had something more powerful in our hands and decided to do a festival run. This again has surpassed all our expectations, not only for the calibre of the festivals we have been shortlisted in, but also for the awards and accolades that it has steadily accumulated.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
That’s really a million-dollar question because we are aware that each path is completely different and impossible to recreate.
Moreover, projects in the “shorts” space are incredible varied and some might require you to look for fundings and would not be possible to produced otherwise whilst others can be done with a tiny crew and a DIY approach.
With this in mind we would only dare to suggest to take the time to understand what makes you happy in the creative process. Do it with love and be nice to people.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
The latest film we watched and loved as we write this is “Steve” by Tim Mielants.
Other highlights from this year’s releases that truly stood out for us include Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.”
For those who have the chance to see them, we’d also like to recommend two remarkable Italian indie projects that both premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
“Orfeo”, the debut feature by Virgilio Villoresi, a reinterpretation of the Orpheus myth based on a graphic novel. The film blends stop-motion animation and live action to create truly unique, mesmerising visuals, accompanied by an exceptional original score.
“6:06” from Tekla Taidelli is a fast-paced road movie that follows the journey of a minimum-wage worker struggling with substance abuse, joined by Jo-Jo, a mysterious French girl. The film is infused with surreal moments, raw emotion, and genuine heart.
Both films have limited, niche distribution, but we strongly encourage you to seek them out if you have the opportunity. They’re the kind of projects that can be hard to find, imperfect perhaps, but they leave a mark.
