Short Artistic Bio
Gary Mazeffa is a filmmaker, writer, and visual poet whose journey began at nine years old when his father placed an Argus C2 rangefinder camera in his hands. What started as a fascination with light and stillness evolved into a lifelong pursuit of storytelling through motion and myth.
As the founder of Q2 Films, Gary creates work that bridges the intimate and the epic — where symbolism, emotion, and cinematic beauty converge. His upcoming feature, Asherah: A Love Odyssey — a mythic romance set for release in late 2025 — is the culmination of years of vision, discipline, and relentless passion, inviting audiences into a world where love, loss, and destiny meet beneath the eternal arc of light.
The Interview
1. When did you realise you wanted to be a Filmmaker / Actor / Writer?
I was nine years old when my father gave me an Argus C2 35mm rangefinder camera. That moment cracked something open in me — the idea that you could freeze time, tell a story, and hold emotion in a frame. Filmmaking became the natural evolution of that early obsession with light, motion, and meaning.
2. Do you remember your first time at the movies?
Oh, absolutely. I remember the hush when the lights dimmed — that collective breath before the story began. It was less about the film itself and more about that feeling: the sense that you were about to be transported. That magic still drives me today, especially as I finish my next film Asherah: A Love Odyssey.
3. If you should change country, where would you like to work?
Italy. There’s something sacred about Italian cinema — its poetry, its intimacy. Fellini, Antonioni, even contemporary Italian filmmakers — they understand how to marry realism with dream. I’d love to tap into that energy.
4. Two films that have marked your life for better or worse…
2001: A Space Odyssey — for showing me how cinema can be pure visual poetry.
The Tree of Life — for reminding me that vulnerability and faith can live in the same frame. Both films haunt and inspired the making of Asherah: A Love Odyssey.
5. What do you think about Acting / Filmmaking schools?
They’re tools, not answers. You can learn technique in a classroom, but you can’t teach instinct. The truest lessons are found in doing — failing, shooting, rewriting, and daring to risk again.
6. Have you ever hated your ambition?
Hate is a strong word. I’ve felt the weight of it, yes — the way ambition isolates you at times. But it’s also what has carried Asherah: A Love Odyssey from a concept to a film now in Post Production. So, no. I honor it.
7. François Truffaut said, “Film lovers are sick people.” Was he right?
Maybe. It’s a beautiful sickness, though — an inability to stop searching for truth in moving images. If that’s an illness, I don’t want the cure.
8. Close your eyes. If I say “Cinema,” what do you see?
Light. Always light. A single frame suspended in time — like Asherah kneeling at the monolith in my final scene, cherry blossom in her hand, the world quiet around her. This moment becomes eternity.
9. Who’s the Director / Actor / Writer that taught you the most?
Kubrick for precision. Malick for wonder. Scorsese for fearlessness. Each one taught me that cinema is as much about discipline as it is about surrender.
10. About your job, tell us your biggest dream and your worst nightmare…
My dream is simple: to create films that outlive me — stories that touch people long after I’m gone.
The nightmare? Losing the courage to keep pushing forward when the world says, “Stop.”
11. How important is it to have a good Cinematographic Culture?
It’s everything. You can’t innovate without knowing what came before you. Cinema is a conversation across generations — I want my voice in that dialogue to be informed, not ignorant.
12. What would you like to improve as a Filmmaker / Actor / Writer?
Patience. I move fast — ideas, edits, shots. I’d like to slow down sometimes, to let the art breathe before I call it finished. It’s through breath that life begins.
13. A big producer gives you the chance to remake a black-and-white classic. What film do you choose?
La Strada. There’s such quiet heartbreak in that story. I’d love to reimagine it through a modern, mythic lens — but only if I could honor its soul.
14. The film industry is tough, and it’s normal to feel lost. Who keeps you motivated?
The story. Always the story. And the belief that the Asherah character has a purpose beyond me — that it’s meant to find the people who need it.
15. Hitchcock said, “To make a good film you need 3 things: The script, the script, and the script.” Do you agree?
Absolutely. The script is the spine. Everything — the visuals, the performances, the score — is in service of that foundation.
16. What’s your most ambitious project for the future?
After Asherah: A Love Odyssey, I want to build a cinematic universe rooted in myth and memory — films that explore the divine feminine and our shared longing for connection.
17. Do you think that sadness or melancholy makes you more creative?
Yes. Sadness sharpens the edges of your vision. But joy is just as important — it gives the work its light. It’s the balance between the two that creates something honest.
18. What do you wish for yourself as a Filmmaker / Actor / Writer?
To keep the fire. To never lose that nine-year-old kid’s awe — the one holding the Argus camera, dreaming of stories that could change the world. Asherah: A Love Odyssey will.
