S IS FOR STANLEY

Director's Statement

I first heard of Emilio D’Alessandro during an interview with Kubrick’s wife in their house near London. When I read his life story I was so blown away that I decided I was going to be the one to put it to film. It’s been a beautiful journey that has gotten me very close to the incredible personalities of two men: one of which I thought I knew everything about, only to discover I did not know a single thing, the other of which I didn’t know a thing but who has left me speechless with his amazing anecdotes. Confronting a giant like Kubrick has been very frightening at the beginning – as I got deeper and deeper I was scared I would spot Stanley in his underwear! But it did not happen: the grace and dignity with which Emilio re-counts those years next to Stanley is moving and gives us the idea of the degree of closeness the two of them had reached. As a director I decided to limit myself and be sort of a ‘wine decanter, enhancing the true and full taste of this amazing story. There is one thing I am sure of: after seeing this documentary, watching a Kubrick film will never be the same.