Giuseppe Fiorello directorial debut, Fireworks - whose Italian title Stranizza d'amuri pays homage to the Catanian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato - is freely inspired by a real-life event that took place in Sicily in 1980. Giorgio Giammona, 25, and Antonio Galatola, 15, disappeared into thin air in Giarre, province of Catania. Their dead bodies were found, holding hands, next to a note and a gun. Their love story was known to the whole community because they lived it openly, an openness that was also much resented. The tragic events that took place in Giarre, victims of indifference, would become fundamental to the history of the gay rights movement in Italy.
Giuseppe Fiorello brings this story to light with the aim of "restoring dignity to these two young men clearly murdered in cold blood by hatred and prejudice". The film places these events in 1982 as Italy is preparing to win the soccer World Cup. In a Sicily of sun-drenched, luxuriant landscapes, its early Eighties environment meticulously reproduced with kids motoring around on their "Ciao" and "Vespa" scooters without helmets and the men hanging out at the village cafes, where the community gathers for the collective ritual of the World Cup matches, Gianni and Nino (Gabriele Pizzurro and Samuele Segreto) accidentally crash their scooters.
This sparks a deep friendship which becomes love when they become colleagues, working on the fireworks displays for village festivals. Their love is strong, and they live it openly in the light of the sun and among the sparkle of the fireworks that light up the night, encountering the disapproval of their families and the prejudices of the local people.
Locations in South East Sicily in the film include the evocative natural landscapes around Noto, Marzamemi, Priolo and Pachino, and the alleys and squares of the villages of Ferla and Buscemi. Gianni starts working at a quarry which is in the mining district of Catania, while the hidden paradise where Nino takes Gianni swimming is part of the Riserva naturale orientata Pantalica, Valle dell'Anapo e Torrente Cava Grande near Ferla, in the Syracuse area.
Giuseppe Fiorello directorial debut, Fireworks - whose Italian title Stranizza d'amuri pays homage to the Catanian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato - is freely inspired by a real-life event that took place in Sicily in 1980. Giorgio Giammona, 25, and Antonio Galatola, 15, disappeared into thin air in Giarre, province of Catania. Their dead bodies were found, holding hands, next to a note and a gun. Their love story was known to the whole community because they lived it openly, an openness that was also much resented. The tragic events that took place in Giarre, victims of indifference, would become fundamental to the history of the gay rights movement in Italy.
Giuseppe Fiorello brings this story to light with the aim of "restoring dignity to these two young men clearly murdered in cold blood by hatred and prejudice". The film places these events in 1982 as Italy is preparing to win the soccer World Cup. In a Sicily of sun-drenched, luxuriant landscapes, its early Eighties environment meticulously reproduced with kids motoring around on their "Ciao" and "Vespa" scooters without helmets and the men hanging out at the village cafes, where the community gathers for the collective ritual of the World Cup matches, Gianni and Nino (Gabriele Pizzurro and Samuele Segreto) accidentally crash their scooters.
This sparks a deep friendship which becomes love when they become colleagues, working on the fireworks displays for village festivals. Their love is strong, and they live it openly in the light of the sun and among the sparkle of the fireworks that light up the night, encountering the disapproval of their families and the prejudices of the local people.
Locations in South East Sicily in the film include the evocative natural landscapes around Noto, Marzamemi, Priolo and Pachino, and the alleys and squares of the villages of Ferla and Buscemi. Gianni starts working at a quarry which is in the mining district of Catania, while the hidden paradise where Nino takes Gianni swimming is part of the Riserva naturale orientata Pantalica, Valle dell'Anapo e Torrente Cava Grande near Ferla, in the Syracuse area.
