La salita (1 screening) Hall 1

La Salita, the film directed by Massimiliano Gallo, is set in 1983 and follows a little-known chapter in the life of Eduardo De Filippo (Mariano Rigillo), who is engaged in intensive work focused on the rehabilitation and training of young inmates at the Nisida juvenile prison through theatre.
In this historical and human context, the stories of boys and girls living on the margins intertwine. The narrative focuses on Emanuele, a young inmate, and Beatrice, a girl transferred from Pozzuoli after the closure of the women’s prison. Their meeting within a space defined by strict physical and social boundaries triggers a network of relationships involving Giovanni, a prison educator, Maria, another inmate participating in the theatre program, and the prison director, who closely observes the development of this extraordinary experience.
Alongside these characters, the figure of Eduardo De Filippo emerges. Appointed Senator for life, he enters Nisida with a clear goal: to bring theatre into the juvenile prison. He contributes to the renovation of the institution’s theatre, launches a set design school and an acting school, and involves actors from his company in staging the first-ever theatrical performance in an Italian juvenile prison.
Theatre is portrayed as a tool of real transformation, capable of creating connections between institution and creativity, discipline and freedom, offering inmates a chance for redemption and the possibility of imagining a future.