“I shared the room and this week of my life with five nutters. There was no chance of lying, of faking perfection, they welcomed me for who I am, for my nature so similar to theirs. Those five crazy people are the closed thing to friendship that I have ever come across.”
Daniele Mencarelli
Freely based on the novel by Daniele Mencarelli (winner, Premio Strega Giovani 2020), the Netflix series Everything Calls for Salvation unfolds over seven episodes, one for each day of the involuntary commitment that Daniele (Federico Cesari) is required to respect following a psychotic breakdown. The series deals with urgent themes like mental health, the meaning of “normality”, the power of friendship, and the importance of relationships.
Daniele lives in the neighbourhood of Garbatella (Rome) where his parents’ home, the social club his family frequents and the church where he goes to say goodbye to his friend Mario (Andrea Pennacchi) are all located.
However, for seven days, his entire world becomes the Militare Lungodegenza Hospital in Anzio, where he is a patient. Symmetrical corridors and claustrophobic rooms inside the hospital contrast with the airy panorama outside which provide a glimpse of the lighthouse and the city’s seashore. Also in Anzio is the Abbraccio disco, where a party marks Daniele’s rediscovery of Nina and Nina’s rediscovery of herself.
The production also shot at the beach club Kursaal in Ostia where Daniele and Nina make an imaginary leap hand in hand from the highest diving board into their future.
“I shared the room and this week of my life with five nutters. There was no chance of lying, of faking perfection, they welcomed me for who I am, for my nature so similar to theirs. Those five crazy people are the closed thing to friendship that I have ever come across.”
Daniele Mencarelli
Freely based on the novel by Daniele Mencarelli (winner, Premio Strega Giovani 2020), the Netflix series Everything Calls for Salvation unfolds over seven episodes, one for each day of the involuntary commitment that Daniele (Federico Cesari) is required to respect following a psychotic breakdown. The series deals with urgent themes like mental health, the meaning of “normality”, the power of friendship, and the importance of relationships.
Daniele lives in the neighbourhood of Garbatella (Rome) where his parents’ home, the social club his family frequents and the church where he goes to say goodbye to his friend Mario (Andrea Pennacchi) are all located.
However, for seven days, his entire world becomes the Militare Lungodegenza Hospital in Anzio, where he is a patient. Symmetrical corridors and claustrophobic rooms inside the hospital contrast with the airy panorama outside which provide a glimpse of the lighthouse and the city’s seashore. Also in Anzio is the Abbraccio disco, where a party marks Daniele’s rediscovery of Nina and Nina’s rediscovery of herself.
The production also shot at the beach club Kursaal in Ostia where Daniele and Nina make an imaginary leap hand in hand from the highest diving board into their future.
Does being involuntarily committed for seven days mean that you’re crazy? This is what the hyper-sensitive, twenty-something Daniele asks himself when he wakes on a psychiatric ward after a psychotic episode, alongside five other wardmates with whom he thinks he has nothing in common, pressed by the doctors who want to explore his brain and cared for by nurses who seem cynical and uninterested. Seven days last a long time and what first appeared a punishment gradually becomes one of the most intense and educational experiences of his life.