SELFIE

Naples, Traiano district. Initially it had to be a temporary peripheral destination for the inhabitants of the slums on the seafront of Naples, left homeless after the war. But the lodgings were permanently occupied, including the basement cellars, and soon the district became a sort of ghetto.

Alessandro and Pietro are two 16-years-olds who film themselves with a smartphone to tell their difficult neighborhood, their everyday life, the friendship that binds them.

They also tell of the tragedy of Davide, their neighbor who was killed innocent by a carabiniere after a chase, because he was mistaken for a fleeing wanted. He was sixteen too.

It happened to Davide, but it could also happen to Alessandro or Pietro … That’s why the director gave them his smartphone, asking them to film themselves in “selfie” mode, as if they looked in a mirror themselves, their world, their life.

A film made entirely of looks, that tells a world where becoming a Camorra mobster is not a choice, but a fate that falls on you just born. Alessandro and Pietro do everything to oppose this destiny, defending the desire for a simple and normal life.

Agostino Ferrente is a director, producer and artistic director. Before becoming involved in cinema, he was also the editorial coordinator of various newspapers for the communities of Italians who emigrated abroad. After studying at DAMS in Bologna and attending Ermanno Olmi’s Ipotesi Cinema, he produced, with his Pirata Manifatture Cinematografic, and directed the short films A little more than half of zero (1993) and Opinions on a pirla (1994). Later he realized with Giovanni Piperno Intervista a mia madre (1999) and Il film di Mario (1999-2001). Both receive festival awards and become small in TV.

In 2001, together with a dozen accomplices, he founded the “Apollo 11” group in Rome and, with film, music and writing reviews, became one of the capital’s most vibrant cultural production centers, the first with an ongoing program dedicated to Reality cinema. Within Apollo 11 he creates a deep collaboration with two masters of independent cinema: Alberto Grifi and Vittorio De Seta and, together with Mario Tronco of Avion Travel, he creates L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio, one of the first multi-ethnic bands in the world, of which he tells the birth with the homonymous documentary, which takes part in numerous international festivals obtaining – among other prizes – the Nastro D’Argento and the Golden Globe of the Foreign Press. With Anna Maria Granatello creates the Solinas Award – Documentary for Cinema.

He made two video clips both awarded at P.I.V.I. for Ena Andi, of the Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio, and Alfonsina and the bike of the Tetes de Bois, with the participation of Margherita Hack. In 2013 he directs with Giovanni Piperno Le cose belle, premiered at Venice Days and awarded prizes at numerous Italian and international festivals. He is currently developing his first fiction film.