Italia Sicilia Gela (ITA) focuses on Gela, one of the most contradictory cities in Italy, through the stories of many inhabitants. They give an unusual insight into their perceptions of the city, describing the elements of unease together with the opportunities so far largely unexpressed. Gela is a metaphor for the problems and potential of Sicily and all of Italy.
We talked with writer and director Lacopo Patierno about the creation of the series and the beauty of filming around a city.
Why choose the web format?
We wanted to tell about Gela’s city in a spicy way, that’s why we choose the web series format, a bit faster than usual long documentary format and with the benefit to reach a large audience all over the world at the same time
How long have you been working on your series?
It’s 2 years now, but I’ve the 3rd series on the go…it’ll make 3 years to shoot the entire series, plus 1 year to research…4 years all together.
What inspired your series?
I was actually commissioned to write a web series format, the goal was to have Gela’s city known around the world. I then imagined the portrait style would give me the chance to explore the city and its inhabitants on a 360° angle.
Italia Sicilia Gela Trailer
What message do you want people to leave with after watching your series?
Love the place you live in, make it your nice beautiful garden to invite friends in, respect what nature gave you and basically have fun.
How important is the message/theme in your series?
It tells us that beside all we should be proud of our life, so the place we are born in, it doesn’t matter if people around try to trash the vision of it. If you want to travel and explore the world don’t forget where your roots are, you’ll be richness for the people you meet in your journey.
What do you love most about the city after finishing directing the series?
People, the beach…and food, hell yeah!
What was your greatest challenge creating the series?
It was to find the right character to film and to try to find different angle to shoot Gela’s city day after day.
What emotions did you feel when you completed the series?
I’m still on it, so I’ll think about it when it’s complete. I can tell you that to see the people from Gela so emotional after the first public screening was the best so far.
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