Francesca Tosarelli

Over the past decade, filmmaker and Canon Ambassador Francesca Tosarelli's projects have spanned social issues, gender, migration and the Covid-19 pandemic, from stories focused on female rebel guerrillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central American migrants fleeing organised crime to Ukrainian paramedics saving lives on the frontline.

"When I was living in Brazil as a child, I helped my father in his darkroom. Then, as a teenager, I realised that I wanted a life in which I could combine my greatest passions: travelling, telling stories and trying to make an impact," says Francesca. "My career started as a photojournalist and then it developed into filmmaking."

Raised between Brazil and Italy, Italian-born Francesca studied contemporary art at the University of Bologna, attended photography school, and enrolled on video-making courses, but she is largely self-taught. Her journey behind the lens began with a Canon EOS 40D, followed by various EOS 5D models, and in filmmaking, the Canon EOS C300, followed by the Canon EOS C300 Mark II (now succeeded by the Canon EOS C300 Mark III).

It was in 2013, aged 29, that Francesca moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and started Ms Kalashnikov – her most complicated project to date.

"I was following a crazy dream as an independent photojournalist. I was freelancing alone, without an assignment, with very high costs on the ground – accommodation, car, driver, fixer – due to the hostile environment, and a complicated issue to extrapolate: female fighters with active roles in the rebel groups of North Kivu.

"That was where the Ms Kalashnikov project started. As a civilian, finding yourself in the middle of a war, and taking the decision to use weapons and join a militia is extreme, controversial and never easy. How do ordinary women become fighters? Getting in touch and working alongside the Congolese rebels was a great challenge, as it is very complicated to meet them, and difficult to build a relationship of trust. I was at the beginning of my career and very idealistic.

"At first, I produced a photo-essay project. This developed through the years into a cross-media one, with a novel and VR project attached, and I'm now producing a film about another Ms Kalashnikov."

Francesca started directing, producing and serving as DoP on her own films in 2019 for large media outlets such as ARTE, Al Jazeera English and Channel 4 News. She now works for the likes of the BBC, ARD, NHK, Al Jazeera Arabic, Radio-Canada Info, Scottish Documentary Institute, Rai Cinema, Yahoo and the Discovery Channel.

Moving into a filmmaking career from photojournalism has involved "a completely different way of working" according to Francesca, but trust and empathy remain ethics at the heart of both.

"Some dynamics are similar, such as the empathic approach to people and the journalistic research on the ground, but that work has very different timing and modalities," she says. "As a photojournalist you can improvise and follow a crazy idea with a low budget and you can see if it may work in the field.

"In filmmaking, you need a more structured idea, a business plan and a production plan. When you are in the field filming, you already need to know who you are working for, if you want to afford post-production costs. Films need more programming. Now, I can no longer imagine myself as a photo storyteller. I am in love with the thousands of storytelling possibilities that video unlocks and I want to improve myself more and more in directing."

You're working on a long-term project about the role of female fighters in contemporary conflicts. Could you tell us more about this?

"This long-term, multi-platform project began in 2013, when I found myself in the middle of the Congolese jungle, photographing female fighters in the civil war. Ms Kalashnikov became a photo-essay published in mainstream international magazines in 2013, and developed into a VR project in 2015 supported by BBC Taster, then into a novel in 2016 published by Chiarelettere, and later into a podcast by Radio Bullets.

"Is it harder to fight the enemy, or attitudes within your own society? Ms Kalashnikov takes you on an intimate journey to the heart of the conflict zones. I have recently been to the Ukraine, to meet Yana, a woman volunteering in the civil society as a paramedic who is also teaching her battalion how to use weapons. All of these women face different enemies of our society – some obvious, others devious."

What's your main aim for this project?

"Ms Kalashnikov aims to create a cultural debate and social impact by challenging the common perception of active resistance in war zones as exclusively male, and by exploring the relationship between genders in the context of war. During some conflicts there can be a lack of authorities, power, institutions and rules. For some, it's a good time in history to explore new identities and roles because there's the space for this."

You're a documentary filmmaker and a photojournalist. What are some transferrable skills that you've learnt from your time doing both?

"The composition of the frame and the relationship with people. Both media jobs involve empathic, communicative, listening and relationship skills. Once the eye is trained, the results can be seen in both media."

What's the most essential equipment for you when you're constantly on the go?

"One body, the Canon EOS C300 Mark II, one zoom lens, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (now succeeded by the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM), one ambient audio, two lavaliers and a monopod."

"What represents me the most, from the point of view of my life approach, is my response to problems. For example, how you get up when you fall. To get out of moments of crisis, there are two possible attitudes: the spirit of the Buddha, where you sit and meditate; or the spirit of the fighter, where you stick out your elbows and go. I choose the second."

Facebook: Francesca Tosarelli

Instagram: @francesca_tosarelli

Website: www.francescatosarelli.com