"Sweet Thing" directed by Alexander Rockwell The NY independent scene of the 80's and 90's was a magical time [Director's Interview Vol.158]

the pure spirit of children

Q: The credits for "Sweet Thing" say "Directed by Aldolfo Loro," which is the name of the indie director played by Steve Buscemi in "In the Soup," but with one letter of the spelling wrong.

Rockwell: The reason I changed one letter was because I met a guy in a bar and he told me, "This is how you spell Aldofo in Sicily." Aldofo Rollo is supposed to be of Italian descent, so I thought it would be fun to make him come from Sicily.

I wrote "Directed by Aldofo Loro" in the credits because I felt Aldofo's spirit in this film. When I was younger, I had a certain James Dean-like belief that "I have to do it this way!" I still love that kind of youth energy, and I remembered Aldofo in "In the Soup" having the mindset that "I can make anything." That boosted my motivation, and this film felt like it was made by Aldofo.

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Q: With Sweet Thing, you said you wanted to film with your own children, Lana and Nico, again after your 2013 feature Little Feet. Both films deal with abandoned children. Why did you pursue this theme?

Rockwell: It has to do with the poetry and innocence of children. You're thrown into the jungle of reality and suddenly you see their brilliance. In one way or another, their pure spirit stands out in the savage world of adults.

There's a scene in the film where kids break into someone else's house and start dancing and running around playing. I wanted to bring that feeling of kids, that energy, that youth, to a difficult situation. It's not just about kids. As Van Morrison sings, "I will never glow so old again," that feeling remains with us. I want to refuse to grow up and become part of a barbaric world. But innocence is fragile and difficult to maintain in this world. I wanted to portray that contrast in the film.

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