"I'm Still Alive" is becoming an animated film. Roberto Saviano will direct. Variety reports that the Gomorrah author will direct an animated adaptation of his graphic novel, illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka.
The work (in English "I'm Still Alive") examines the writer's life and, just like the graphic novel, will be enhanced by illustrations by renowned Israeli artist Hanuka. The project, which marks Saviano's directorial debut, will be presented this week in Bordeaux during the Cartoon Movie festival. "I'm Still Alive" is an international co-production between Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red, GapBusters for Belgium, and Tel Aviv-based studio Sipur. Saviano also wrote the screenplay with Neapolitan animation director Alessandro Rak, who also created "Cenerentola the Cat," Filippo Bologna, and Stefano Piedimonte.
"My film is the story of a 26-year-old boy sentenced to death by a criminal organization - a boy who grew up in a land where, in a handful of years, the Camorra killed 4.000 people", Saviano said in a statement to Variety. “The condemnation comes to that boy because he decided to write what he sees around him. That boy is me.
'I'm Still Alive' is the film with which I decided to bring to the screen what I have experienced up to now", he added.
In the graphic novel, Saviano recalls witnessing Camorra murders on the streets in broad daylight and how the enormous success of his book impacted his personal freedom, forcing him to live under police protection since 2006.
His book Gomorrah, translated into over 50 languages and with over 10 million copies sold worldwide, also spawned the film of the same name by Matteo Garrone and the series of the same name, which have achieved great success not only in Italy, on Sky TV, but also internationally (in America it is broadcast on HBO).
"We immediately fell in love with Roberto Saviano's graphic novel 'I'm Still Alive,' seeing the power in the story of his tragic, powerful, and exceptional life," Mad Entertainment chief Luciano Stella said in a statement, explaining that "The goal is to make an animated film with a style that can captivate a general audience and at the same time realize a great artistic vision."
The project was produced for Mad by Italian 3D animation pioneer Ivan Cappiello and director and illustrator Mario Addis.
"We are thrilled to be working with the talented team at Mad Entertainment on this animated film in which Roberto Saviano tells his life story for the first time. Saviano is literally a hero of our times, and his story is incredible," said Lucky Red founder Andrea Occhipinti.
"It's an honor to work with such an important writer as Roberto to make his first animated feature film as a director and to see Asaf's illustrations come to life for the first time.", highlighted the CEO of Sipur, Emilio Schenker, who added: "If there was ever a project worth diving into new waters for, this is it.".
The graphic novel 'I'm Still Alive' is published by Bao Publishing in Italy and by Boom! Studios and Simon & Schuster in the United States.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to