A real success the national premiere for “The Gospel According to Ciretta”, a film by Caroline von der Tann produced by the Neapolitan house Parallelo 41 together with Lucky Bird Pictures. Last night the work was presented, for the first time in Italy, at the Cinema Lumière in Bologna in competition at Biografilm 2024. On the big screen of the Emilian festival the complexity of Naples through the story of a character who manages to transform everything into a show between devotion and singing skills.
### An evening of emotions
The documentary, made with the contribution of Regione Campania and Film Commission Regione Campania, thrilled an audience vibrant with laughter and emotion and applauded for several minutes at the end credits. After the film, a debate took place that brought together the protagonist, Ciro Granada, the director and the producer, and which culminated with an emotional performance by Ciro. Also present in the Bologna room were Pina and Angelo, respectively Perzechella and Capitano, a couple of social and cultural animators involved in the recovery of a cultural space in vico Pazzariello, through the fundraising of Fondazione Etisos.
### Gentrification told through Ciretta
The Naples of “The Gospel According to Ciretta” is one that is struggling with mass tourism.
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### A deeply complex character
Ciretta is completely immersed in the religious devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, but her devotion takes on complex traits. She lives in the contemporary world but is deeply imbued with the past and roots, solidly connected to tradition yet constantly renewed. Her real world, set against the backdrop of a Naples at times compassionate and at times bitter, not only inspires observation but also questions and provokes reflection. The film becomes cinema—thanks to the editing work done by the director together with Simona Infante—from the many hours of footage that give it substance.
### A promising future
The film, which has just begun its journey with a vital impetus, is preparing for other national and international stages after Thessaloniki, Krakow and the preview in Bologna. “The Gospel According to Ciretta” will continue to tell the contradictions and complexity of Naples of yesterday and today embodied by Ciretta and his world.
