“La gente di Napoli – Humans of Naples”, the documentary by three very young Neapolitans with the participation of Cristina Donadio, Enzo Avitabile and many other Neapolitans.
An exclusive journey through food, art, music, theater and football. “The goal – reads the press release – is to strengthen and relaunch the image of the city of Naples on the international scene.
During the course of a day in Naples, his characters tell the stories and contradictions of their city. In this way, they want to strengthen the relationship of interaction and exchange with those who continue to commit and invest in the growth of Naples, an extraordinary opportunity for The people of Naples, to finally be something other than the stereotypes that afflict her.”
From the photographic and psychosocial investigation project of the same name by Vincenzo De Simone, The people of Naples – Humans of Naples is an exclusive journey through food, art, music, theater and football: the aim is to strengthen and relaunch the image of the city of Naples on the international scene through the eyes and words of those who live there, especially through the faces of those who decide to stay or those who were forced to leave. As a day in Naples unfolds, its characters tell the stories and contradictions of their city: among them Enzo Avitabile describes the city as a mother house, a point from which one starts and then inexorably returns; Laura Bouchè, who emigrated to London, of the Neapolitan's ability to adapt to new contexts; Cristina Donadio also underlines how Naples is surrounded by lights and shadows that we often try to hide; finally Christian Giroso, born and raised in Scampia, talks about the theater workshop Arrevuoto in which the kids from the outskirts of Naples participate.
The innovative charge of this documentary represents a permanent eye on the different facets of the city, a system of connections between people and the territory with the ambition to put them in correlation, to study in particular, a place rich in resources, in order to improve them and not to waste them. In this way we want to strengthen the relationships of interaction and exchange with those who continue to commit and invest in the growth of Naples, an extraordinary opportunity for "the people of Naples" to finally be something other than the stereotypes that afflict them. The love of the Neapolitan for his city is unique in the world.
The cast is composed of Carlo Alvino, Enzo Avitabile, Laura Bouchè, Sara Caiazzo, Sal Da Vinci, Luigi de Magistris, Cristina Donadio, Marco Ferrigno, Luciano Filangieri, Sara Gentile, Christian Giroso, Emanuela Marchese, I Born with a Shirt, Gianni Parisi, Teresanna Pugliese, Luigi Reale, Patrizio Rispo, Pasquale Ruocco, Mario Scippa, Veronica Simioli, Ciro Vitiello.
Music by Enzo Avitabile, Andrea Sannino, LePuc, Roberto Ormanni & Il Quartet.
The documentary is available on the YouTube channel and on the website of the project “La gente di Napoli” because it is our will to make it free and accessible to everyone, forever: a positive sign to demonstrate that Naples is alive and still dreams despite the problems faced in this last year.
"The people of Naples” was awarded in December 2020 at the 74th edition of the Salerno International Film Festival, one of the oldest film festivals in Italy, founded in 1946, and second in Italy only to the Venice International Film Festival, winning the Plaque for the Social Documentaries section. It is currently a finalist in the 17th edition of Accordi e Disaccordi, International Short Film Festival.
The documentary is produced by Vincenzo De Simone, a Neapolitan psychologist and photographer, with the direction of the Londoner Luciano Ruocco, author of documentaries and film-maker at Rocco Media Productions, and the Neapolitan Maurizio di Nassau, director, photographer and film-maker. The director of photography is Stefano Virgilio Cipressi, the audio post-production by Giuliano Matteo Carmosino, the social audio-video service by Fujakkà and the drone videos by Virto 360.
Watch the documentary
Vincent DeSimone, a psychologist and photographer from Naples, was born on July 31, 1991 in Massa di Somma and lives in San Giorgio a Cremano, in the province of Naples. In 2015 he graduated in Psychology: Human Resources, Cognitive Ergonomics, Cognitive Neuroscience at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, certifying himself as an “excellent graduate”. Since 2016 he has been a certified Street View photographer for Google's Local Guides program.
Already the protagonist of numerous exhibitions, he founded the photographic project La gente di Napoli – Humans of Naples, with which he collected over 900 portraits that will become a study sample for the psychosocial investigation of the same name. The initiative boasts the participation of many figures from the world of art, entertainment and Italian culture as well as photographic exhibitions at Castel dell'Ovo, at PAN Palazzo delle Arti Napoli and other locations. The faces collected become the occasion for the publication of the photographic book in which part of the scientific research is summarized.
In 2018 he discovered that inside the famous murals of Jorit there were hidden writings, words and phrases that expanded their meaning. He photographed all the murals created, thus creating the first photographic archive in the world of murals and hidden messages of Jorit. Once the news was published, with great interest from the media, it immediately went viral and surprisingly reached beyond national borders.
In 2020 he returns to the PAN with the collective Le anime di Partenope, a plurality of artistic visions that highlight the comparison between the different souls of the territory, allowing for greater awareness of the city's identity and its multicultural and multiethnic profiles.
Maurice of Nassau
Doctor in Psychology and graduated from the Film School of Naples, he works as a director, photographer and
film-maker. He has directed and co-directed several short films, web series and independent feature films. As a photographer, he has taught and exhibited in several group shows, including at the Palazzo delle Arti Napoli and the Blankwall Gallery in Athens.
Luciano Ruocco
Graduated in Media Studies from the University of West London (BA Hons). Documentary writer and filmmaker at Rocco Media Productions.
Article published on 25 February 2021 - 10:08
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