I've lost all my money on these films. They are not commercial. But I'm glad to lose it this way. To have for a souvenir of my life pictures like Umberto D. and The Bicycle Thief.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the value of artistic integrity over financial success.
Vittorio De Sica emphasizes that while his films may not be commercially successful, their artistic significance and personal value to him are far more important than monetary gain. He finds solace in the emotional and cultural legacy of his work, viewing these films as treasured memories that encapsulate his experiences and contributions to cinema.
In practice
This quote could inspire filmmakers at a festival discussing the value of artistic expression.
If there’s a thing, a scene, maybe, an image that you want to see real bad, that you need to see but it doesn’t exist in the world around you, at least not in the form that you envision, then you create it so that you can look at it and have it around, or show it to other people who wouldn’t have imagined it because they perceive reality in a more narrow, predictable way. And that’s it. That’s all an artist does.
So much of what I create has been due to the influence of Miles Davis and Donald Byrd, and so many of those that have passed on. Their music, their legacy lives on with the rest of us because we are so highly influenced by their experience and what they have given us.
I'll get cast occasionally as sort of the jerk version of myself, and I have fun doing that. But it's really better for everyone if I stay behind the camera.
I’ve learnt from experience that a painting isn’t finished when you put down your brush – that’s when it starts. The public reaction is what supplies meaning and value. Art comes alive in the arguments you have about it.
Architecture is the thoughtful making of space
Avant-garde is French for bullshit
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