PROJECT 405: LOST AT SEA, 12min,. USA
Directed by Josie Hull
Aspiring artist Alexia, grieves the loss of a loved one and struggles to finish her painting. The-o, her personal AI assistant, who has little understanding of human emotions, tries everything in his power to feed her longing soul.

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Get to know actors & creators Marco Labate and Gica Pucca

. What motivated you to make this film?

M: Coming from pretty intense personal journeys, we wanted to work with the idea of fantasy vs. reality, and we chose to use grief as a vehicle. At the end of the day, you can always make the choice to either acknowledge or ignore what you feel, but the latter can lead to confusion, and reality always catches up to you.

G: We liked exploring the concept of artificial intelligence and the modern world, conflicting with art and human emotion.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

We initially didn’t have much of an idea of how long this would take. We just kept fleshing out the concept by ourselves until we brought Fender Bender Films in, which was essential in making the project actually happen. From start to finish, Project 405 took us around 7 months to complete.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

M: Human nature
G: System failure

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

To put the idea into paper. The initial concept was pretty broad so we had a hard time pinpointing how and what we wanted to show the audience. Thanks to our director Josie coming in, we could finally finish what we started and get the production going.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was heartwarming to see how this film was able to resonate with the audience. This is the part that we eagerly wait for from the beginning of a project, to find out what people take from our piece. After all, this is who we’re making it for.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

M: I was always very inspired by movies, especially as a kid. I always came out of the movie theater hypnotized by the new ways a movie has taught me to look at things, like my world was broadened a little bit every time. In a way, I was raised by films. Now, all I want to do is to provide that feeling of innocence to other people, almost as a thank you to the people who made me feel the same way.

G: I like the quality that movies have to transform the imaginary into reality. For me, it's a way to keep playing "what if" but in the adult world. I realized that I never wanted to let go of my imagination growing up. So making movies became a way to collect a part of it and put it into frames, with the possibility of sharing those stories with the world.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

M: I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed, but it was either The Incredibles or Monsters Inc.

G: I’ve seen The Witch by A24 more times than I can remember. It’s my favorite horror tale.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

We really appreciate the possibility of getting as much feedback as possible, either through text, audio or video!

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Our experience was pretty straightforward and rewarding. The platform is really simple to work with.

10. What is your favorite meal?

M: I’m a huge fan of rice and beans with fries on the side and a good steak.

G: I’m deeply missing my grandma’s cod recipe right now…

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Hopefully we get to keep working on as many passion projects as humanly possible in the future and to find even more ways of telling stories that we love.

M: I’m currently writing a script for a feature film. The idea is to have a mix between Due Date and Good Will Hunting!

G: I currently have The Last Encore (2024) and Three Card Pull (2024) on festival runs. I’m also looking for talent representation as an actress and a distributor for my future feature film.