Contributing to curate a peculiar moment like a homecoming is a very delicate matter. The reunion with the past, the desire to find a new dimension where memories and sensations of lived life merge without friction, and the prospects of what will be, invites reflection on the places and methods of celebration that do not fall into clichés.
The spirit of choosing to celebrate the premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, “It Was the Hand of God,” already selected to represent Italy at the upcoming Oscars, the most personal, intimate, and probably powerful work of the Neapolitan director, in Naples was precisely this, declared and pursued by the “celebrant” and absolutely shared by Netflix, which produced the film.
And so it was almost natural to restore the sense of proximity to the city of those who intended to bring the film there for its first release, immersing the promotional activities in its vibrant heart, to create the culminating moment in one of the nerve centers of Naples’ cultural and monumental system. The Teatro di San Carlo, the gardens of the Royal Palace, places where art and culture are not just monumental corollaries but literally come to life, offering a lively and vital view to guests without allowing any fall into cliché. To make everyone feel at home, even if a home that is decidedly special and unique, like the one told by Sorrentino.
A film is a choral work, and the seventh art necessarily lives on the collaboration of thousands of people for what is not just a cultural production activity but a long thread that touches and intersects lives, sensitivities, and experiences in a journey made of many important moments, and some – the public ones, in contact with the audience – that assume a particular symbolic value. Being able to be part of one of these defining moments, also contributing to delicate phases such as managing relations with the main cultural institutions involved, balancing the needs of the entire array of subjects who were integral parts and leading actors of the event, was an important exercise in project culture, with which we are proud to have been able to engage.
