Cosima Spender Quotes

Cosima Spender is an Anglo-Italian film director, producer and writer who has worked in varying capacities on Dolce Vita Africana, Without Gorky and Palio . Palio won the best documentary editing award at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

Also known as Producer, Writer

I studied anthropology and art history, as I have always been captivated by living traditions.

Cosima Spender
The Palio is shrouded in mystery and secrecy, and the players can't discuss their devious schemes.

Cosima Spender
- Mystery
- Players
- Discuss

I would like people to feel that they've understood something more about Siena than the usual Palio as seen by tourists. It is full of beauty, romance and tradition, but also power, schemes and bribery. It's Italy in a nutshell, with all its incredible mixture of beauty and betrayal.

Cosima Spender
- Beauty
- Betrayal
- Italy
If something I make succeeds, people say it was luck. But I don't just throw myself into the unknown. I research my subjects and listen constantly to what the characters have to say. Luck comes into it, but the story is made by them.

Cosima Spender
- People
- Story
- Luck
Documentaries are unpredictable. You never know what will turn up, and the drama occurs in real time. But if you listen to people, a narrative always emerges.

Cosima Spender
- Real
- Drama
- Narrative
Paradoxically, in the field being a woman actually helps you: people often feel more comfortable talking to women, which is key in documentaries.

Cosima Spender
I grew up in Siena and was surrounded by the Palio, and all my friends at school were obsessed with it. But since my parents are English, I was never quite part of it.

Cosima Spender
- Parents
- Never
- English