documentary short | 10'16''
trailer
Marco has been playing guitar and singing to passers-by at the Simonis metro in Brussels since 1984, even though he knows his end is approaching.
Two heart attacks and cancer shook up his bohemian busker’s life, but he didn’t give up music or painting.
“Marco: a friend from Simonis” is a short documentary portrait of a dying man who’s full of life, a bittersweet story about music, ambition, success, and life.
I met Marco when I moved to Brussels and didn’t know almost anyone in this city. I was doing a lot of street photography, wondering around the streets of the new town, talking to strangers. One day of April 2019 I saw him playing for the passers-by and his solitude amongst the people made me stop and listen. The music he was playing was resonating so well with the sight of a man alone in the crowd I dared to approach him we agreed to meet for a talk. This talk transformed into a friendship lasting for almost a year. I learned that he is a very private person, very shy too. Nonetheless, he was comfortable enough one day for me to turn on the camera and capture one of our numerous conversations. Then I filmed him in his usual busking spot – Simonis metro station, performing those songs I heard when we first met. At this point, I realized that they not only reflect that sight I noticed when we first met, but his life story too.
2026 (India): Official Selection, TATVA 2026, A Festival of Shorts
2023 (Belgium): Official Selection, Mriya International Film Festival
2020 (Italy): Official Selection, Religion Today Film Festival
