Joe Picozzi celebrates his kind of people

How did you get into directing?

When I was around 10, my parents got me these best of SNL DVDs, and I became interested in sketch comedy. Shortly after, I got a camcorder. I was assigned a class project, something about the wetlands, in 5th grade, and our teacher made the mistake of putting me and my friends together. 

We decided to make a video that we were super proud of, it just didn't have anything to do with wetlands. I played a bunch of characters, and one of them was the host of the video, a Ron Burgundy-inspired newsman who was bitter about his divorce. I was drinking grape juice out of a wine glass for effect. We got an F on the project and got our parents called to the school, but I found what I liked to do the most.

What was the inspiration/influences behind My Kind Of People?

My Kind Of People mostly came out of a desire to capture how I grew up, and how my family is, before it disappears entirely. The cultural identity of being Italian American is fading away with every generation. As time passes, the people, the personalities, the recipes, the stories, even from my childhood, are harder and harder to come by. The more I thought about my identity, the more it felt like the way into the story.

The cultural identity of being Italian American is fading away with every generation.

Identity is very important to everyone, but Italians are extra funny because the movies, the music, and the food kind of go to our heads. We get a lot of things told to us about ourselves, and a lot of us start to believe it, good and bad. It was natural to imagine a nightmare scenario where someone who had built their whole life around being Italian American finds out they’re not actually Italian at all, and then the cure, which had to be his family, which is what we’re best at.

On the cinematic side, Martin Scorsese is the biggest influence on the style and camera of my work as a whole, and especially on this film. I was introduced to his films at 10 years old; even though the situations were brand new, the DNA, the details, and the sense of humor were intuitive to me from my real life. John Cassavetes was also a huge influence, as I was trying to go more realist than usual, and this comes through most in the last scene of our film (the best scene, in my opinion). And of course, Francis Ford Coppola. I used to watch The Godfather to get hyped up before my Little League games. The light and the dark, the funny and the tragic – it’s not a coincidence these filmmakers all make films that have this dimension – it’s part of our culture. Our people are very "dark comedy" in a way that other people are not. Also, I need to mention David Chase and The Sopranos. There are so many Italian American masterpieces, it’s quite daunting to try to contribute something, so it was important to figure out how we were going to be different from our influences, too.

Above: A look behind the scenes of the shoot for My Kind Of People.

How long was the shoot and what was the most challenging aspect of the project?

The shoot was three days long - we also got a half day of inserts and car shots later on. The most challenging part of this project was the schedule. It’s a ton of story, even for 15 minutes, but it’s what I could afford, where everyone was compensated fairly. 

My producers Lauren Germani and Alex Berard, my DP Carlos Cardona, and the rest of my crew were spectacular. I was very fortunate to have a team of amazing people to fall back on. I also don’t think we could’ve made it happen without my entire family helping out. My mom cooked all the food, my dad was shuttling people, we used my uncle’s property, my cousin’s car, etc. It was an incredible family moment - and I think it ended up translating on screen.

 It was an incredible family moment - and I think it ended up translating on screen.

What have you learned during the process of making this film?

I learned too many things to talk about, but I’ll try to summarise what I think the most useful thing is to share.

Each individual filmmaker starting out has a different initial loadout – where you’re from, who you have to help, what personal experience you can draw from, etc. It’s both physical resources and personal storytelling resources. You need to be like an alchemist and mix these resources together in a way that makes you the most special you can be in a crowd. If you’re trying to play catch-up with whatever’s already out there, so you can scratch the itch of being a filmmaker in 2025, you’re going to waste your time. You need to be unique, and you need to be singular, and you need to reveal something about yourself.

You need to be unique, and you need to be singular, and you need to reveal something about yourself.

I think a lot of what makes us individuals feels boring to us - we’re so familiar with ourselves that we can’t imagine someone might actually want to connect with us over it. It’s also kind of scary to share real things about yourself and be vulnerable. You can often psyche yourself out from telling the truest and best stories. I’m really grateful to this one for realigning me creatively, not necessarily with the subject matter, but on a deeper level, reminding me how to access the well of inspiration.

Above: Director Joe Picozzi on set.

How important was the casting for this film?

Casting was everything to this film. I needed to capture something real, or else the movie would not work. Casting it in a traditional way would’ve ensured disaster. I knew that I needed a few incredibly talented actors, Justin Russo as Gio, Joey Dardano as Robbie, Savino Laquale as Uncle Mike, and Bonnie Rose as Gram to anchor the film, and then everyone else needed to be as real and raw as I could find. 

I took my grandfather for coffee while we were searching for a grandpa, and I realised no one was going to be able to play him like he could, even though he’s never read a script or been on camera in his 88-year-old life. We hosted local in-person auditions to find the rest of the family. I was fortunate to be able to rehearse several times with the newcomers; it took a minute, but everyone got comfortable and we started having a lot of fun. We all got to know each other well, and it became easy for them to act like a family. I ended up getting a lot of great ideas from my actors that ended up in the movie, too many to list out. I had the best time with my grandfather and my other family members that I fit in the movie. It became an experience that we’re all never going to forget, and I think that feeling was infectious.

 I’m relieved I was able to do something that I consider authentic.

Justin Russo is very much like Gio in that he’s a lot less Italian than you’d think; he’s more Korean than Italian. He lives in Oregon. It really speaks to his performance that everyone thinks he’s my friend from growing up. Bonnie, too. Bonnie is Jewish but has an Italian husband, who helped her prep. It really is amazing that they have the ear, and they were able to blend in. I know how everyone should look and sound, so it’s incredibly jarring when someone goes for the Italian American thing and fails. It becomes a mockery. I’m relieved I was able to do something that I consider authentic.