To create such an original but truthful series, you need a mind that is not afraid to take risks with unforeseen themes, a different narrative and comedy that starts with drama. This is the case of Bindu De Stoppani, director and screenwriter, as well as creator of Netflix’s little gem, Astrological Guide For Broken Hearts.

We at Survived The Shows had the great pleasure of interviewing Bindu De Stoppani, director and creator of Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts, and discuss with her the many challenges behind making an adaptation and her favourite moments.

Tracing the genesis of the project, Bindu De Stoppani tells us that she ‘stumbled upon Silvia Zucca’s book almost by chance’ in an autogrill during a trip from Naples to Milan two summers ago. She was looking for something light and carefree to read and the cover immediately struck her. Not to mention the intriguing title, ‘Astrological Guide For Broken Hearts’. Always intrigued by the subject of astrology, Bindu points out that page after page she fell in love with the character of Alice Bassi and consequently with the book.

That was the spark, and the idea of adapting it into a TV series.

“Silvia’s book is already very cinematically written. In the sense that her dialogues, her rhythm, while reading I already felt like I was watching a TV series. So Silvia already has this rhythm in her language.

Obviously adapting a book of over 400 pages into 12 episodes of two seasons is a complex job because you have to make certain choices, decide if all the characters survive, are there, are amalgamated.

Then there was the whole element of Alice. Because in the book her inner voice is very comic but very dense – there’s a lot of internal narration – and obviously in a 30-minute episode you can’t just explain what Alice is thinking, you have to show it.

[…] Then Silvia wrote this book in 2014. There were a lot of changes especially in the field of women and we needed to push the discussion forward a bit with certain choices.”

Bindu De Stoppani on adapting Silvia Zucca’s book

Bindu emphasises how important it was for her to change the narrative by bringing to the stage a story of female solidarity and the need for another vision.

“Because women, as a character in season two also says, are always pitted against each other,” explains the director. “There is always the feeling that there is not enough space for us within a discussion, within a work…”

“Often in our stories there is one woman against the other. I think we need to change this narrative because it comes from an ancient narrative. A narrative that is based around the princess and the witch, the mother and the stepmother. I think we have to enter into another vision, a new feminine narrative. One of our vulnerabilities is to be able to accept the vulnerability in another without seeing another woman as an enemy. But to accept that we are all insecure anyway, we are all sensitive. We all have our insecurities, our cravings, our fears. Once we accept that we can be much stronger, because we can work together, be a team.”

Bindu De Stoppani on female solidarity on Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts

Another element that made all of us viewers of Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts fall in love is undoubtedly the range of nuances that characterise the characters. Bindu tells us how important it was for her to change what is an overly traditionalist narrative, which sees everything as black or white, good or bad. This was made possible by introducing characters like Carlo, for example, who is basically good at heart, but makes the wrong choices driven by his own insecurities.

What was a fun scene to shoot and what was one that was more difficult?

As for the funny scenes, Bindu names as the funniest ever to be filmed Cristina’s labour in the car with Alice and Carlo following on their bikes. The scene was planned down to the smallest detail with stunts and everything, and where all of them, actors and production team alike, had the time of their lives. Carlo’s serenade to Cristina was also, according to De Stoppani, hilarious, with Alberto Paradossi writing the lyrics himself as Carlo.

In terms of difficulties, however, it is “hard to say” because as the director points out, every day is different on the set, so every day there are various problems, including the weather, COVID and the actors’ health.

“The most difficult element was actually handling to shoot two seasons during the COVID pandemic. Especially the first season, we shot it during lockdown, so it was all very restrictive. And in a way it brings clarity, because we were really a team where we couldn’t disperse for everyone’s safety, but it also brings the tension of not knowing if you can shoot the next day.”

Bindu de Stoppani sulle difficoltà nel girare GAPCI

Talking about the characters that have been most interesting and/or most beautiful to direct, Bindu feels really hard to choose between his children.

All the characters, according to the director, have varied characteristics and therefore something that interests and intrigues her. She really likes depth, non-concern, and that’s why she always pushed every actor not to make the easy decision.

“I work very seriously with actors […] I’m very serious. I also come from an acting background, I studied acting here in England for three years. So I really have a way of analysing scenes, even in a romantic comedy, where maybe the opinion is ‘yes, but it’s funny anyway’, but it was important for me never to be superficial. Even in comedy, always having… I think the funniest comedy is the one that comes from drama.

[…] So I was always pushing the actors to think about the drama, the dilemma. To think about what they wanted in the scene, what they were thinking, to always give them the thought in the eye… the subtext, we worked on the subtext a lot!”

Bindu de Stoppani

A key element of the narrative used in the series is the point of view. According to Bindu De Stoppani, a series could have been created from the point of view of any other character and couple dynamic.

Who knows what more could have been told with one-hour episodes… but at the same time, as Bindu points out, the format worked for this type of narration and in this sense the director can say she is “proud” that they were brave enough to keep everything tighter, more dynamic, without lingering too long on certain themes or stories.

“In my opinion it is very important the point of view and the decision of how to tell a story – from which point of view one tells it. So I don’t know if I have a need to re-explore certain dynamics but it’s an interesting question and I think the story could be different from any other point of view. […] And that’s the beauty of visual stories because it’s all about point of view”.

Bindu De Stoppani

As a souvenir from the set, Bindu shows us that he took home the clapperboard of the very first episode, and gave the cast and production at the end of the shoot some little stars that light up. A starry thought to remind her of this experience.

She also reveals how she would have liked to take many things from Alice’s house, given the free inspiration of her style for that of the character. Moreover, costume designer Giulia Chiaretti gave her some of the clothes from the protagonist’s wardrobe. Bindu also says they had a lot of fun creating the wardrobe for the series together, making it a bit pop, a bit 80s/90s. Not to mention the sets, which matched her vision.

Throwing back to the origins of her passion for directing and screenwriting, Bindu De Stoppani recalls how from a young age she loved writing her own stories but did not feel represented in this environment.

Even as a child, Bindu De Stoppani had a clear vision of how she wanted to tell her stories, which she wrote. As a teenager, she says she made a lot of videos in the pre-digital era with her friends in which she did everything, acting, writing, directing, editing. At the same time, however, the low representation of women in the environment demoralised her and did not encourage her to go all the way and try to make it a profession.

“I didn’t see people like me represented in this role, as a director, or rather THE director. It was always male. So it didn’t enter my consciousness as a possibility to work in this industry. I didn’t see people like me who could inspire me […] So my in was in acting. Because at least there I saw people like me in front of the camera”.

Bindu De Stoppani

Her journey started with acting, studying in London, where she acted in various films, television programmes and theatre productions.

It was only after all these experiences that she became a director, first a theatre director and then, always returning to her passion for film, she took courage and started directing short films and so on.

“Storytelling has to belong to everyone and stories should not be told only by one genre. In my opinion, we have to tell them from all genres, so that we all feel represented in the stories we see. This I’m learning more and more, I’ve learned.”

Bindu De Stoppani

What advice would Bindu De Stoppani give to those who want to pursue a career as a director/writer?

To all those who may not feel up to the role, Bindu shouts a huge ‘Bah! Do it! Don’t feel yourself limited. According to his vision, but also ours, today you can explore this world of visual storytelling much more widely than in the past, with more advanced and precise tools.

“[Today] there is much more opportunity to create, to make, to explore, to try, to make mistakes… and there are so many many opportunities to share your work. There are the platforms, Youtube… So I would say to someone who wants to start in this business, CREATE CREATE CREATE! DO DO DO DO! Because the more you do, the more you learn, the more you learn, the better you become.

Bindu De Stoppani a chi vuole intraprendere la carriera da regista/sceneggiatore

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