The Giffoni Film Festival is preparing to host one of the most anticipated events of the 2026 edition. Tomorrow, Friday 24 July, at 8 pm, in the Sala Truffaut, “La Salita ” will be presented, the first film directed by Massimiliano Gallo , an intense work inspired by a true story that has its roots in Naples in the 1980s.
Set in 1983, the film draws inspiration from the experience of the theater workshop initiated by Eduardo De Filippo within the Nisida Juvenile Prison . Through the language of theater, the great playwright offered many young inmates a concrete opportunity for redemption, transforming the stage into a vehicle for hope and rebirth.
For his directorial debut, Massimiliano Gallo chose a story he feels deeply connected to. In an interview with ANSA, he stated:
"For my directorial debut, I wanted to be fully aware of what I was doing. I wanted the ability and strength to tell the story through my own eyes. It's a story that's part of me, one that tells of the hope of some young people and their desire to redeem their lives. And then it tells of Eduardo De Filippo and his commitment to the young people of Nisida."
These words capture the soul of the film, which was created with the aim of going beyond a simple prison story. The director himself explained that he wanted to focus on the transformative power of culture:
“I wasn't interested in the stories of the tough and the not-so-tough that are so often told in the cinema, but in highlighting how, even in the most difficult places, when art and beauty arrive they can profoundly change people.”
In addition to Massimiliano Gallo, numerous members of the cast will also be present at the film's presentation at the Giffoni Film Festival, including Marianna Mercurio , Shalana Santana, Roberta Caronia , Lucianna De Falco , Angela De Matteo , Maria Bolignano , Luisa Esposito and Alfredo Francesco Cossu , ready to meet the public and tell the story of the journey that gave birth to this project.
With " La Salita ," Gallo makes a debut film about second chances, courage, and humanity, bringing to the spotlight a true story that continues to move and remind us how cinema and theater can become instruments of change. Its appearance at the Giffoni Film Festival thus represents a significant moment in the film's journey, destined to leave its mark thanks to a story capable of uniting memory, emotion, and civic commitment.
