06/11/2003 - Now or Never by Lucio Pellegrini is the first fictional drama set at the time of the Genoa summit, in July 2001. The story is about growth and also a condemnation

After the many documentaries filmed in the heat of the moment, now the cinema is about to show the first fiction film about the days of the G8 summit in Genoa. Now or Never by Lucio Pellegrini is being released in theatres from November 14 in 80 copies.

The film goes back to the wound opened in mid-July 2001, reconstructing scenes that happened inside the Bolzaneto barracks, where demonstrators were taken by the police after the raid on the Diaz school. But these are fictional images and the barracks was reconstructed. The images will certainly provoke some debate, with their dramatic evocative strength, in tune with the atmosphere of films like The Strawberry Statement and Garage Olimpo. "For these scenes we used the statements of those directly involved – continues the director of Tandem and Let’s mambo! - We did a lot of interviews to research how to made the atmosphere genuine. But the things you see in the film are toned down when compared with what these kids told us".

But the G8 in Genoa is just one aspect of Now or Never. The story is adapted from a subject by the young screenwriter Roan Johnson, who lived through some of the experiences shown in the film. And in fact, the film has two distinct themes: the story of a young man’s growth and a condemnation, with the first prevailing over the second. "I’ve always had an affinity with stories of growth”, says Pellegrini. “But this time I liked the idea of mixing together a provincial story, about young university students in a small city like Pisa, with History, that of the G8 at Genoa and the big no global demonstrations".

In the film, we see a student at the prestigious Pisa Normale university, who’s intelligent but also a swot, always closed up in his world of physics formulas. But this changes as he comes into contact with the "movement", with the youngsters who go to the social clubs and live in squats. A love at first sight, who leads him to his first experiences of real life, a news awareness and also the first pangs of disappointment. And, on July 22, 2001, who takes him straight to Bolzaneto, without even passing via the streets of Genoa.

Now or Never was shown at the Locarno, London and Villerupt festivals and is produced by Fandango and Rai Cinema, and is distributed by 01 Distribution. It stars some young promising Italian talents like Edoardo Gabbriellini, Violante Placido and Elio Germano. And the main character is played Jacopo Bonvicini, making his film debut.

(Translated from Italian)