Introducing... Luca Paulli into The Pod!

As you all know, The Pod is where we nurture new directing talent, and we are very excited to welcome Luca Paulli to our roster! We love his beautiful compositions of bold colours in real environments and so we met up to find out more about him and what inspires his work.

A still from We're Hunting Treasures 

Picasso Pictures: Hi Luca! So let's start with where are you from?
Luca Paulli: I was born in Italy, grew up in Milan and have lived in London for over 10 years now.

PP: How did you get into Animation?
LP: I have loved drawing since I was little, and as an only child most of my games consisted of me dressing up and re-enacting stories from books or TV. One of my favourite characters was Goldrake, an Anime /Manga robot.

A young Luca in costume as Goldrake.

At university I studied Italian literature and was a journalist for a while. It was only after I graduated and was living in Berlin that I came across animation. At the time I lived with a gallerist and he told me about a university called ZKM where artists were using technology devices to make art. This intrigued me.

I went there for a few months and I worked on interactive projects, video installations and computer programs. But I was captivated by animation - It combines my love for drawings with my passion to tell stories. That autumn l left my job as journalist and moved to London to start a course in animation at Central Saint Martins.

Luca at work.

PP: How would you describe your style? How did it develop?
LP: I would describe my style as POP. In a sense that it’s colourful and bold and it uses familiar imagery juxtaposed into unusual contexts. Colours and shapes are very important to me. They are central in establishing the mood of a piece.

Floating Jellies

PP: Who/What has been the biggest influence in your career?

LP: There are three major artists who have influenced me the most: Yves Klein for the way he challenged the system, he was a true revolutionary. Ellsworth Kelly because he looked at things in an unique way, he created shapes from emptiness. And Jeff Koons, because his work is very tactile but also has a narrative structure.

Carpark Lines

PP: Is there one specific project that best sums you up?

LP: My latest works, We’re Hunting Treasures and Sunny Afternoon represent best where I am at the moment. I put a lot of energy in making those two films and I hope it shows in the final result.

A still from We're Hunting Treasures.

PP: Where would you like to see the future leading you, career wise?

LP: For me animation is one of the most powerful ways of communicating… I would like to keep being inspired, making films, being creative. And I want to continue to explore the endless possibilities there are to engage with people through storytelling.

PP: What inspires you in life?

LP: Colours, shapes, music, great stories, kind and intelligent people.

A still from Sunny Afternoon.

PP: Tell us something about yourself that nobody else knows!

LP: Years ago I passed the exam to get my sailing licence, which means I can sail a boat in the open sea. As captain of the boat, technically I can marry people on board. But only in extreme situations - like a sinking ship or the imminent death.

To view Luca's films click here