(2025, Italy, 100')
What connects Palermo to Carmelo Bene? Many things, as shown in Franco Maresco’s latest work. As the late Goffredo Fofi testified, Bene was a sincere admirer of Ciprì and Maresco’s cinema, especially their 1995 film Lo zio di Brooklyn (lit. ‘the uncle in Brooklyn’), and performed several times in Palermo, always including the city in his tours. Alongside this story, the protagonist of an unrealized film, Maresco reflects on his career, marked by memorable works and unfinished projects, against the backdrop of his enduring desire to isolate himself and sever ties with a world (cinematic and otherwise) he perhaps never truly identified with.
Director, screenwriter, and cinematographer Franco Maresco has shaped Italian cinema history in partnership with Daniele Ciprì until their split in 2008. Memorable films include Totò che visse due volte (1998) and Il ritorno di Cagliostro (2003). Solo at Venice in 2019, his La mafia non è più quella di una volta won the Grand Jury Prize.
