Towards the end of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, a trove of Italian cultural treasure filled the screen and viewers’ ears, as Nino – A Film About Nino Rota got its gala premiere, out of competition. Director Walter Fasano spoke generously and amicably about his main subject, Nino Rota, lovingly referred to as “Nino”, and about finding new possibilities within a sometimes-rigid documentary form.

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Cineuropa: There should be quite a few documentaries on a grand artist like Nino Rota, one would assume. Would you happen to know how many?
Walter Fasano: Actually, there are not many. There was a German one from the 1990s, which is nice and in a TV style, and then Rai produced one, Un amico magico: il maestro Nino Rota, directed by Mario Monicelli, for whom Nino scored several films. It's basically a conversation between Monicelli and Suso Cecchi d'Amico, the screenwriter who was Nino's best friend. I use some parts in our film. Rai also did La visita meravigliosa: Viaggio in Italia sulle tracce di Nino Rota with his nephew Jean Blanchaert, who is also in my film. It's a road movie set in Apulia, which is very personal and private. Our film is the first theatrical one. At least I hope it will show in theatres.

And what made you say, “Right now, the world needs a big film about Nino Rota”?
It was an urge to express a documentary form that isn't like so many artist portraits nowadays – they are increasingly predictable and with a very rigid structure. I wanted to make a film, which would be documentary in nature, about Nino Rota. “Why Nino Rota?” you ask. And I reply: “Why not?” I very much liked the idea of portraying a person of the 20th century. It's not merely nostalgia; it's more looking at the life journey, how his life goes in parallel with and represents a century, and where some things have been lost with time. It feels relevant and interesting.

“Born in 1911 and passed away in 1979” covers a fair bit. We learn that he composed his first oratorio at 11, heard by, among others, Ravel. He wrote operas, ballets, and orchestral, choral and chamber works, plus over 150 film soundtracks. Even though he got criticised by some for doing film music, isn't this still where the best things happened?
The good thing is that I don't think Nino worried about it; the different sides of his music were in constant dialogue. That said, I sincerely hope that when people see this film, they will go out and search for – and this is quite easy with today's resources – the other half of his music.

Let's briefly mention Ennio Morricone, who also at times was “torn” between the “serious” and the “popular”. Morricone is never mentioned in your film, however.
Well, I think it was appropriate not to mention him. There was mutual respect, and Morricone was interviewed when Nino died. But there are many things not in the film.

Giuseppe Tornatore's Ennio Morricone documentary Ennio, from five years ago, features a lot of famous faces sharing their admiration over the subject. You hardly have any of that here. Is it possibly a reaction to all of those “predictable” documentaries you mentioned before?
I agree. I love some of those people in Ennio, musicians like Pat Metheny and Bruce Springsteen, but I don't feel they contribute anything apart from saying, “His music is part of the soundtrack of my life.” And that's not very relevant, I feel, or very subtle.

A notable musical presence in your film is Vince Mendoza, the US jazz arranger. We meet him at the Bari Music Conservatory, where Nino Rota once taught, together with the student orchestra, performing Rota music. Was this your initiative?
It was. Let me also tell you that we had the choice of using either a professional Bari orchestra or the students from the conservatory. We used students, some 18 years old, and then some older pupils, who had studied under students of Nino Rota. I'm a big jazz admirer, and in the 1990s, I wrote to Vince and said that I would really like a collaboration one day. We first talked about a regular soundtrack, but when this project came up, I got him as my own Leonard Bernstein, conducting and explaining the music – beautiful! There'll be an album made out of this, I'm happy to say. We chose the repertoire together.

Bari is a central place in the film, quite naturally, as Rota lived and worked there for decades. You yourself are also from Bari. Was that another sign that you'd be a suitable director for this film?
I'd say that more than anything, it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time and seeing the possibilities. That plus luck.