And so the idea was to tell a counterstory,
to put the camera in Africa pointing towards Europe
and try to make the viewer live their experience
during the journey,
with all the various moods
that may alternate during this story,
this contemporary odyssey. During this epic tale,
because they are the only bearers of contemporary epic.
I heard about them in a reception center run by a friend,
I met some young people who had made the trip
and who told me their stories.
And I realized that there was a whole part of the trip
that is not really known.
Not only in Spain,
but also in Italy we are used to seeing the images
of the boats arriving.
But we know nothing about what happens behind it, in the desert,
in Libya and even at sea, from their point of view.
There have been many difficulties.
Even the fact of directing the actors
in a language that was unknown to me.
There were also very difficult action scenes to shoot,
because the movie is an adventure,
so there's a lot of action.
But I was lucky enough during this film,
during the production,
to have always had boys and girls next to me
who had actually lived that experience
and who guided me with their stories,
helped me to tell this story with a truth in the details.
And this certainly helped me a lot,
and made me feel a little more protected
because I entered a culture that was not mine
and so I immediately understood
that we had to do this film together.
I had the utmost confidence on their side
and they had my confidence too. We trusted each other.
And we have made this journey together.
We chose to tell this story remaining faithful to a basic truth,
but at the same time trying to give an abstraction as well.
Because we didn't want to make a documentary,
we didn't want to do a reportage story.
We wanted to make a fictional story,
to reconstruct this journey while maintaining authenticity,
but at the same time having some moments of abstraction
and also of light, let's say of hope,
of openings to an even slightly more dreamlike dimension.
I think that every movie changes you.
every film is a reflection precisely on the human condition.
And certainly the experience of 'Io Capitano',
the fact of having lived so many months together with the boys
who actually made that journey.
Seeing their human charge,
their vitality and also their generosity,
made me reflect
and has certainly enriched me.
And then it was very nice to work with professional actors,
even African ones, because they had a very emotional
and not so cerebral approach,
they had no technical superstructures,
they were very emotional in their acting
and this is always a great gift for a director
to have actors who also put something
from their personal lives
into play together with the character they play.
We made a choice that is also linked to a whole series of stories,
narratives and people that I met and they pointed out that,
in addition to a type of immigration that is perhaps the most known,
those who flee from wars or from extreme situations
or climate change, there are also those who migrate
because they are young, because they have dreams,
because they think that coming here can be an opportunity
to change their lives, their situation, even economic.
And just like us, when we were their age, we dreamed of leaving,
of seeing the world.
And this is a type of immigration that exists.
70% of the African population is young, unlike us,
and among these young people there are many who
have the courage to risk their lives to try to come here.
And I don't think they can be stopped with walls
or with barbed wire, because they will still try to come,
because it is their human right
to feel that they can move freely,
even if we clearly hinder them with our laws.
So the film deals with a theme that concerns
precisely human rights and injustice.
We hope that the film will be seen all over the world,
especially in Africa,
because it will be interesting to see their point of view.
They know that people die during this trip,
but they have never seen the actual trip.
So it will also be interesting to see their point of view.
And the hope is precisely that, perhaps thanks to this journey,
thanks to the film,
they may perhaps have an extra thought before leaving.
Thank you.
71SSIFF | Kafea - Pedágio
08:45
71SSIFF | Kafea - Beyond the Fog
13:02
71SSIFF | Kafea - Grace
21:08
71SSIFF | Kafea - El juicio
02:46
71SSIFF | Kafea - Les rayons gamma
22:18
71SSIFF | Kafea - The New Boy
18:51
71SSIFF | Kafea - Los delincuentes
24:55
71SSIFF | Kafea - Los impactados
16:26
71SSIFF | Kafea - We Are the Hollow Men
13:25
71SSIFF | Kafea - Bauryna salu
18:28
71SSIFF | Kafea - Contadores
15:35
71SSIFF | Kafea - Single Light
17:24
71SSIFF | Kafea - Alemania
19:30
71SSIFF | Kafea - Camping du lac
15:16
71SSIFF | Kafea - Short Story
26:58
71SSIFF | Kafea - Aunque es de noche
21:22