Rocco Papaleo, star of the Nastro d’Argento Comedy of the Year, Nessuno mi può giudicare is the reason that I want to go to Basilicata.
I’d never really heard much about it; it wasn’t on my “to do” list. But along came “Baslicata Coast to Coast”, Papaleo’s directorial debut, and now I really want to see “the region in which, even with the DC (Democrazia Cristiana) over 40% there’s no mafia” (“give us our piece of mafia”, says the opening song). Papaleo, 53, has been acting and singing for years, and was one of the stars of “Nessuno mi può giudicare”, the comedy that’s getting a lot of attention in Italy right now and was voted best comedy by the association of Italian film critics.
Known to Italian moviegoers for his Basilicata accent and his comic genius, he wrote, directed, and starred in “Basilicata Coast to Coast” as a tribute to his homeland, and you can really feel the love.
“This film is a song”, said Papaleo. “I wrote the story as if it were a piece of music and then I assembled the actors like musicians. I wanted to make a movie about the south, where I came from, as I saw it from the time I was young; a place to make and follow your dreams, to seek change, and the poetic tenderness that it is capable of.”
“For years I wanted to direct – I discovered a sincere passion for all of the work beyond the acting, from the planning stages to the post production.”
In the movie’s opening song,
“OK, I confess, I was born in Basilicata and yes, Basilicata exists. It’s a little like the concept of God, you believe or you don’t.”
I Love Italian Everything 