by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi

Luca Borghese is a pioneering producer who has worked on films such as ‘Young Adult,’ ‘The Beaver,’ ‘The Messenger,’ ‘Rampart,’ and most recently the movie that is gaining the greatest praise by film critics and audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival 2014, ‘Gabriel.’

The films that Luca produces always depict unconventional characters, at times despicable, other times marginalised in society, but that always have great truth and the ability to arouse empathy. All his choices proved to be successful and in this exclusive interview he explains what it means to him to be working as a film producer:

How did you get into production to begin with?

I grew up in New York City and when I graduated in music from college I decided to try and intern for one summer in Los Angeles in a few production companies. During my stay there I called some friends and told them I needed a job and they suggested I joined the production team on a movie. So once I started that the rest somehow snowballed and after two years in L.A. I came back to New York and I got a job with a producer who was making really low budget films. Eventually I got hired to work at Sony Classics for three years and after that I started freelancing which is what I do now. So far I’m enjoying it and it seems to suit me.

Having previously worked in L.A. and being now based in NYC, how does it feel to work on indie movies as opposed to the big Hollywood productions?

‘Gabriel’ is the first movie I’ve done as a full producer, so I’ve always been in post-production for a really long time and I do bounce back and forth, covering films both in L.A. and in New York. I don’t really want to live in Los Angeles, New York seems to have a very vibrant film community right now that there’s a lot of work going on and it’s very specific.

How did ‘Gabriel’ come about?

That was very much of a family project in some way. Ben Howe (the co-producer) and I have been friends for about ten years and we both had our separate careers. He’s been producing for longer than me. He came to me with Lou’s script two years and a half ago and asked if I wanted to co-produce it. I asked who wrote it and he told me it was his brother. I read it and called him and told him I thought it was really good. I initially helped perfecting the script and as it became a more concrete project we decided to formalise the whole thing and to produce it together.

When you decide to work on a film, what qualities are you drawn to?

Generally the script and the director are what are determining to me, especially because most of the films I’ve produced are director driven. As a matter of fact I’ve been working consistently with a few directors over and over again, since I respect them and I think they have something important to say aesthetically.

Speaking of the directors you’ve been working frequently with, there’s the talented Oren Moverman…

Yes we worked together on ‘Rampart,’ ‘The Messenger’ and currently we’re in the midst of making ‘Time Out Of Mind’ which is about a man who recently has become homeless living in New York. They’re shooting right now, they should be finished in a couple of weeks.

You work on multiple projects simultaneously, how does that work for you?

Usually it takes time, just the making of Gabriel goes way back to January 2012, when Ben gave me the script and here we are now in April 2014 premiering the film at the Tribeca Film Festival. When I start working on a film I don’t know exactly how long the entire process is going to take and as the projects develop in their organic way you make decisions on whether you’re able to take things on or not. For instance  I’m not looking for anything new in the immediate future, but I’m starting to plan for late this year and early next year. If you just keep an eye on that way it’s usually manageable. That’s the case for any producer.

You are very supportive of directors who debut with their first feature…

Lou Howe’s first film is ‘Gabriel’, Oren Moverman too began with me, and now director Noah Pritzker is working on his first feature I’m producing, ‘Quitters.’ I think it’s an interesting process and I’m a young producer and it’s important for me to find those people who will be great directors in ten years time. I’m looking for those people who I think might have the qualities who are valuable in a director at the beginning of his career. I want to work with someone with whom I can build a career with.

Besides ‘Gabriel’ and ‘Quitters’ do you have anything else in the works?

A film called ‘Ten Thousand Saints’ which is being directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, starring Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Asa Butterfield and Emile Hirsch. We shot it in New York in February, now they are halfway through post-production right now so I would expect it to be at festivals in the fall.

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