“The Removal”
Burdened by the memories of a life full of pain, trauma and regret, Victor undergoes a surreal medical procedure that promises to rid the patient of any negative feeling. As he lays on the operating table and the surgeons get to work, his entire life flashes before his eyes. He relives traumas old and recent alike as the doctors dig deeper and deeper inside him in search of the root cause of his unhappiness. But how far can one go - and how much can they remove - in the pursuit of a happy life?
Director Biography
Leonardo has been based in Scotland since 2016, where he studied Film at Edinburgh Napier/Screen Academy Scotland. Now specialised in directing and sound design, but with a background in photography and editing, he is an eclectic filmmaker with an interest in experimentation and visual / aural storytelling. Most of his work explores themes of loneliness, alienation and dissatisfaction with modern life, often through the lens of magical realism. He frequently takes the role of sound designer on his own projects, an unusual combo that allows him to craft his films around this underrated element to add new layers of meaning and emotion to his stories.
Director’s Statement
I have always been drawn to stories about memory, and I am eternally fascinated by how artists decide to represent it. So when I found the original short story for The Removal I was struck by how it portrayed trauma in the most physically disgusting way possible, imagining it as nasty, gory tumours growing inside your body. I cannot resist the appeal of magical realism and the surreal as vehicles to explore complex modern issues. I could see that the story had all the right ingredients for a film with an important message unafraid to use inventive and shocking imagery to convey it. I was fortunate enough to surround myself with my favourite collaborators for this project, all incredibly talented people, and I was amazed by how they went above and beyond to help me turn this idea into a reality on screen. Being able to recreate an eerie operation room with doctors, tools and gore was one of the most satisfying experiences of my filmmaking career. Seeing it on screen makes it worthy of all the effort and time we put into it. I hope this film will fascinate and shock audiences in equal measure - and maybe even be a conversation starter for important talks about trauma and mental health in our modern age.