>Roberto Saviano – Alive but Still in Hiding

Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano survived his expiration date – Christmas 2010. Angered by the popularity of the book, the Camorra called for his assassination last January and said he’d be dead, killed by a car bomb by the end of this year. Saviano claims that Italy is not Afghanistan – that the mob doesn’t stop people from writing or talking, but that their patience was tested when the book sold 4 million copies in 51 countries, almost 2 million in Italy alone. “If I had sold 10,000, they wouldn’t have cared,” says Saviano.

The popularity of the movie didn’t help. It won the Gran Prix at Cannes, Best Film at the European Film Awards, Best Film at the David di Donatello Awards (Italian Oscars), Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and many other awards.

Only 31 years old, Roberto Saviano still lives in hiding with round-the-clock surveillance – does he regret speaking out? “I admit that, at times, I do. Many a morning, I’ve woken up regretting it, ” he said.

If you’d like to read more, here’s a recent interview with Roberto by John Lloyd. In the meantime, see the movie. It’s available from Netflix, the DVD and with instant viewing, and you can buy it at Amazon.com.