Stranizza d'Amuri, a film about being Sicilian which sees the directorial debut of Giuseppe Fiorello

Strangeness of love by GIUSEPPE FIORELLO actor, director, screenwriter, producer, it is his first feature film as a director for the cinema in which he involved many Sicilian actors.

June 1982, in a warm Sicily that thrills for the Italian national team at the World Cup, two teenagers, Gianni and Nino, they collide with their respective mopeds along a country road. From the clash a deep friendship is born, but also something more, something that is not looked upon favorably by the families and young people of the town. Courageous and hungry for life, Gianni and Nino don't care about prejudices, of rumors and live freely. A freedom that others do not understand and are not willing to accept…

Their love will be pure and sincere, but he cannot escape the prejudice of the country which he does not understand and does not accept. Their love will not be understood even by their respective families, thus generating a strong and painful internal conflict. The film is dedicated to Giorgio and Antonio, victims in the Crime of Giarre, occurred in 1980 in the province of Catania.

The incipit does not bode well: two brothers go on a hunting party with their uncle, the smaller one is frightened by the shot of the rifle which kills the hare.

Two parallel stories: on the one hand Totò a child who is afraid of guns who incredibly resembles the protagonist of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, who, together with his brother Tony, is started hunting by his uncle.

On the other hand, fatherless Giannino who works in his stepfather's workshop. Giannino is targeted by the young people of his country for his sexual orientation.

Recited in strict Sicilian, the screenplay draws on island idioms and it will be difficult for viewers from the continent to fully understand the lexicon and spirit that animates the whole film.

The story takes place in eastern Sicily and the director explained that to remain equidistant from the tragedy he preferred to set it in a different country from reality, also because its intent is not based on an investigation, but to show in a poetic way that love has no boundaries.

Among the various tributes there is the one recognizable to Franco Battiato with the inclusion of some well-known pieces. Indeed, the curator of the music was introduced in the meeting with the journalists, Giovanni Caccamo, direct collaborator of Battiato.

Together with the two interpreters, the presence of their respective mothers is notable, but with two different approaches they show their love for their children.

The film is shot in suggestive glimpses of Sicily such as the gorges of the Alcantara river and its crystalline waters and as pure as the feeling of the two young.

To underline the photography and the directorial solutions of the shots that make it a perfect film, actually too much.

As explained by Giuseppe Fiorello, the drive to direct this film came from reading a newspaper article which, after thirty years, recalled the alleged murder and suicide, and in fact in the final the spectator is left to hazard the sad reality.

In "Strange Love", among the numerous actors we point out the young interpreter Manuel Bono (already seen in the Makari series where he gave life to the protagonist Saverio Lamanna in a scene, interpreted by Claudio Gioè, when I was a child.). Manuel Bono, he was also an interpreter in the short "Paolo and his Angels" dedicated to Judge Borsellino and his escort whose theatrical version from which it is taken is entitled "Paolo's Angels ... 80 anni del Giudice Paolo Borsellino” had already seen him protagonist on the stage of the Real Teatro Santa Cecilia Palermo.

In today's film, Manuel plays the young bully called Sucabenzina.

We report an interview with the very young Sicilian actor who provided us with his press office:

Manuel, What can you tell us about your role in Giuseppe Fiorello's film?

M:In the film I play Sucabenzina one of the bullies of the country, and I had to put a lot of effort into creating an obnoxious character, with an annoying giggle, the most distant from how I am and from how I relate to others

Did you know the story of Giorgio and Antonio killed in Giarre in 1980, which inspired the film "Stranizza d'amuri"?

M:I did not know before this film this double homicide occurred over the years 80. Discovering it through the screenplay made me reflect on how much wickedness there can be even in a country where everyone knew each other and maybe even trusted each other, and they thought it right to sentence to death two boys who just wanted to live their love freely. Fortunately, times have changed today, but there is still a long way to go for full freedom and the protection of human dignity.

What is the art of acting for you and when did you decide to become an actor?

M: Acting has always been a part of my life, because I took the first stage in a theater show with the lead role in solos 10 years. So it wasn't a decision I made one day in my life, but a path that is bringing me beautiful experiences, like the ones I experienced in this film "Stranizza d'amuri".

How do you balance acting and music and what is music for you?

M: The two arts have different times and modalities that are very close to each other, because even in music I am an active part as I compose my lyrics, for which, like in acting, even in the music I always put something of myself. I like being on a set as much as I like being in the recording room… they are two worlds that meet: music with video clips and cinema with soundtracks…