A Neapolitan hero
“I fell in love with Masaniello at university,” said Angelo Antonucci at the 1 July press conference to present his latest film, Amore e Libertà - Masaniello (Masaniello:Love & Libery). The film is in its fourth week of production.
Antonucci, a native of Campania in Southern Italy, revealed that he fell under the spell of Tommaso d’Amalfi’s (aka Masaniello) dream of freedom and justice for all. He spent several months writing the storyline and then the screenplay and the film went into production on 9 June on location in Tarquinia, Bracciano and the countryside around Rome.
The film is about one of Naples’ most famous revolutionaries, a popular hero who lead his fellow Neapolitans in a revolt against the injustice of their leaders.
Antonucci chose his cast most carefully and it includes “names” like Anna Galiena, Gabriele Lavia and Franco Nero, as well as coming talents like Sergio Assisi, who audiences will remember from Ferdinando e Carolina and L’uomo della fortuna.
Produced by Amedeo Letizia’s Factory, the people behind fine films like Il Consiglio d’Egitto and Amor nello Specchio, and co-produced by Sunday Film International with funds from the Italian ministry for culture with a Euros4m budget, who would love to see Amore e Libertà – Masaniello get the sort of international exposure that a festival like the Berlinale could provide.
Some 300 extras were cast and 800 costumes created for this historical film about a young fisherman called Masaniello, who became a revolutionary. It is also the story of the love he shared with his wife, Bernardina. Although it is set in the past, the premise of “justice for all” could not be more contemporary or fitting. “This is the story of all the Masaniellos all over the world,” said Antonucci. “It’s for all those people who love, dream, fight and, on occasion, are betrayed.”
(Translated from Italian)
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