National premiere in Shrine of San Giovanni Rotondo for the movie”Padre Pio” by Abel Ferrarawith the participation of the director and screenwriter Maurice Braucci. For the first time in its dubbed version, an Italy/Germany co-production, produced by Maze Pictures and Interlinea film. After the presentation in the original language which took place at the 79th edition of the International Film Festival at the Venice Biennaletoday the official presentation of the Italian version will be held in San Giovanni Rotondo and in the Vatican.
The mayor of the city of San Pio announced the important event: «We are proud to host this event in our city, we are also moved by the contemporaneity with the Holy See – commented Michael Crisetti – San Pio dal Gargano arrives in New York also thanks to this film. We are also grateful to the director for having told important facts in the history of our city, those of the 1920 massacre, a story that is often forgotten but belongs to all of us. The city of San Giovanni Rotondo owes much to his beloved saint who, as he recently recalled Pope francesco, he fought evil throughout his life: with humility, with obedience, with the cross, offering pain out of love. Every year our city is a destination for pilgrims who come to seek spirituality and peace in this piece of the Gargano, the same spirituality which, I am sure, struck the director of the film. That great, unique and amazing strength that only San Pio transmits. The event that we will host with the Capuchin friars will be yet another demonstration of the great spiritual message and its great international strength”.
Taken from the letters of the Saint
The feature film by the New York director, Abel Ferrara, taken from the letters of Padre Pio and written together with Maurizio Braucci, it tells in an unprecedented way the charismatic figure of the Capuchin friar. History and sacredness are intertwined in the film starring the actor Shia Labeouf. It is not a hagiography, nor the spectacularization of miracles: it is the story of a young man who studies to become a friar and of his complex soul, as he tries to get away from the temptations of the flesh and the spirit, and that of the rise of the first peasant and worker movements, two parallel stories that meet in the Gargano valleys.
The director’s masterclass on Sunday
Among the other protagonists of the film are Cristina Chiriac and Marco Leonardithe young talents Vincenzo Crea and Brando Pacitto with the extraordinary participation of Asia Argento. The music of Joe Delia and the photograph of Abbot Alexander they accompany and illuminate the journey through the human and spiritual story of Padre Pio.
In San Giovanni Rotondo the entire weekend will be dedicated to the film on Padre Pio. Three, in particular, the scheduled appointments: Saturday at 18 in the Auditorium “Mary Pyle” del Santuario will host a screening of the film followed by the director and screenwriter who will meet the audience in the hall. The evening will be conducted by the actress and singer Martina Difonte. Saturday evening is accessed by invitation. On Sunday morning, however, at 9 the director will hold a masterclass dedicated to young people (info: filmpadrepio2022@gmail.com), while at 20 the film “Padre Pio” will be screened with free admission subject to availability of seats with reservations required (for information and reservations filmpadrepio2022@gmail.com).