Matteo Garrone on His African Odyssey ‘Io Capitano’: ‘I’m Italian. I’m White. This Is Not My World: There Was a Risk of Getting It Wrong’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone, who is a two-time Cannes jury prizewinner, with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012, is in competition at the Venice Film Festival for the first time with his immigration-themed drama “Io Capitano.” Shot in Senegal, Italy and Morocco with a cast of largely non-professional actors, “Io Capitano” narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe.
Garrone’s own company, Archimede, produced with RAI Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula Film as a co-producer. The drama is backed by Pathé, which is handling world sales through Pathé International.
Garrone spoke to Variety about what drew him to make a film depicting what he calls “the only real epic voyage we have today.” The voyage of immigrants from Africa “who cross through the desert, get put in prison camps, and then have to submit to smugglers to reach their destination by sea.” The young protagonists of “Io Capitano” are poor, but they have food on the table.
What drives them to risk their lives and go through total hell to try and reach Europe? They see Europe through social media like TikTok and what they get is a glossy version of it.
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