In the year 2020, the world was confronted by a deadly virus. The European country of Italy was heavily hit by Covid-19, and it was the first to put in place a strict lockdown regime. Giulio Gobbetti’s grandmother was one of the many in quarantine. From 652 miles away in London, he embarked on a quest; to teach her how to video-call. Gobbetti’s '652 miles = 0 (Or the wonderful convenience of video calling)' is a film which delves into the sense of belonging, connections and narrowing the distance that stemmed from the global viral outbreak. The film, with a run time of 3'45", was premiered at the Academy Award-qualifying short film festival CineLebu in Chile. The film also travelled to Visions du Réel 2021 Film Market, Lago Film Fest 2021, Bolton Film Festival 2021 (Bafta Qualifying), 23rd cortoLovere, DocDays 2021, Milano Mobile Film Festival 2021, Essex Doc Fest 2021, Goa Short film Festival 2021 and London Migration Film Festival 2021, with the recent pit stop at the 19th edition of the Pune International Film Festival. Excerpts from an interview with Gobbetti: How did you come up with the name '652 miles = 0 (Or the wonderful convenience of video calling)'? Most of my work gravitates around themes on the sense of belonging and the connections we have to a place. I have been living away from my home country for more than a decade now, and sometimes I feel that a part of me - the one that used to live in Italy - is slowly slipping away. As soon as we entered lockdown in the UK, what struck me was how Italy is, in fact, not so far as before, or rather, everything else around me seemed to be as far as Italy was. I wanted to make a film about that feeling, of having lost something close to us, like social interactions with our friends and neighbours. Those interactions now moved to the online world… But, it was important to me to say something with positive undertones, so I decided to shift the focus from what I had lost to what I gained: an opportunity to spend more time connecting with my family back in Italy. After 1918, the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest historical episode in global pandemics, and Italy was one of the worst-hit countries. How does the film help in documenting an important period in human history? What is remarkable about the coronavirus pandemic is how much it is documented, especially through visuals. In a way, many people are sick of seeing the constant flow of images and information, and the more we add to this pile, the more we feel like distancing ourselves from it all. '652 Miles = 0' is really a film about the sense of connection that was made, rather than lost. Documentary filmmaking allows me exploration of universal themes that transcend the situation, time and space. The importance of the film does not lie uniquely in it being a film about coronavirus, but on the narrowing of distances that resulted from it. How has the film been fashioned to incorporate the elements of video calling during the pandemic? It is interesting, because video calling has been part of my life for a long time, as it is for many other migrants. Yet, it was not until the pandemic hit that I realised how important a tool it is. Before this, I had taken for granted my connections with people back home. This pandemic made me realise how much of that connection with family was something that I thought I had, rather than something I really had. The images I use in the documentary have not been filmed by me: I put a call out on Facebook for people to send me clips. Many people responded, from old friends to people I have never met. The process became a way for me to restore connections and rebuild a connection with a place that I have left behind. The pandemic was especially hard for the elderly, some of whom either had loved ones living far from them or minuscule knowledge on technology. Does the film have any elements of that? Yes, I agree, and that is partly why I was interested in exploring this idea of connection with my grandmother rather than with someone younger. At the time of making a film about technology and the elderly, I was also giving my grandmother the means to seek connection with me. I know that one day, I will be in a similar position, confronted by technology that is presented to me as a challenge, and this will be a reminder on how important it is to take that challenge head on. What are you working on now? I am always brewing new ideas. At the moment, I am working on a feature-length documentary that also deals with the question of belonging. The project is called ‘End of Season’, and it looks at a small seaside town that is alive mostly during the summer months. The film is a portrait of a town told through the stories of the people that populate it – from elderly tourists to migrant workers.
