Naples once again becomes the setting for a television series where the protagonists are young people looking for redemption who live in difficult social contexts. But this time, on the contrary Sea outsideof which the sixth season is being prepared, is a true story: the rebirth of a difficult neighborhood thanks to the tireless and visionary work of a priest. The series, We at Rione Sanitàdirected by Luca Miniero (already director of Welcome to the South) Rai 1 match on 23 October for three evenings and features one of the faces of Sea outsidei, the Neapolitan actor Carmine Recano, who here plays a priest inspired by the figure of Don Antonio Loffredo.
The series begins when Don Giuseppe, the protagonist, after an experience as a prison chaplain, is transferred to the Rione Sanità due to his too revolutionary ideas, characterized by a strong presence of organized crime which also enlists many young people in its ranks. A neighborhood that is infamous on the one hand, but on the other rich in history, with ten churches and a wealth of underground catacombs to be valorised. And it is from here that Don Giuseppe sets out to give hope to his parishioners with the collaboration of a nun, a sacristan and mothers tired of seeing their children in prison or killed.
THEThe series was initially supposed to be titled Like a Father. And a certain paternal attitude towards the boys is what his commander of the Mare Fuori juvenile prison and Don Giuseppe have in common…
«Commander Massimo is ruder, also due to the role he plays, and then he has to deal with kids who already have a ruined life. While Don Giuseppe tries to prevent them from becoming criminals and, more than a father, acts as a guide with them. This is why in the end a more collective title was chosen, because it is a choral series, which does not focus only on the figure of the priest, but on the strength of an entire community”.
Did you meet Don Antonio Loffredo?
«Yes, and I have to say that my biggest fear was not to disappoint him, also because in my career it is the first time that I play a character who really existed, and in this case also alive and well».
Don Antonio manages to get the kids off the streets also thanks to the theater. In the city there are many social initiatives that focus on involving young people in the world of entertainment. Maybe because Neapolitans have always had a strong vocation for acting?
«Naples certainly boasts a long theatrical and then cinematographic tradition. But I rather believe that theater has often been chosen as an educational tool because acting helps us to step into other people’s shoes and develop empathy. And also to get to know each other more deeply.”
What relationship do you have with the church and faith?
«I was educated according to the Catholic religion, and I continue to believe in God even if I am not a practiser. And it comes naturally to me to turn to Him in difficult moments, when I feel I need greater help.”
He grew up in Secondigliano, another popular neighborhood in Naples. Did you know the Rione Sanità before Don Loffredo’s arrival?
«Of course, and it was really very different from how it is now. And I also have a particular connection with what Don Loffredo did, because at a certain point he entrusted the direction of the theater workshop to a dear friend of mine. I met many of the guys who inspired the protagonists of the series, and I then found them again today in the role of tourist guides.”
How did you start acting?
«By chance: I accompanied a friend to a casting, I was noticed by the director Aurelio Grimaldi who gave me my debut on TV. Immediately afterwards I got the leading role in the film Terrarossa. Then I moved to Rome, I wanted to study in an acting school, but one role after another arrived and I was only able to take a few private lessons.”
How did the partnership with Ferzan Özpetek begin?
«He noticed me right in Terrarossa, and wanted me in Le faite ignoranti. Then I continued to work with him in several films, up to the last one, Diamanti, where I had a small but very intense role thanks to his ability to reveal the intensity of a character just from his looks.”
Any previews on Mare Fuori 6?
«I can only say that most of the kids have finished their journey in juvenile detention, so there will be new characters and new stories. I am grateful for the success that this series has given me, and I am not afraid to remain tied to that character, because I have already been acting for many years and I can continue to do so even if the series ends. But when the boys stop me on the street calling me “commander” and telling me that they would like a father like me, I understand that even a fictional role can help fill that void of affection and values inside them. And I hope that it can be the same with the figure of Don Giuseppe.”
