Parallelo 41

Naples 1999, two boys and two girls full of hope. Naples 2013, the same protagonists disenchanted in a paralyzed city.

Carmela is thirty, beautiful and as untamed as an horsewoman. She is jobless and struggles to get by on her own, doing small day-to-day tasks. She makes ends meet by making use of the immigrants who populate the maze of alleyways of Naples' old historic centre. A circle of hell where, even to get a residence permit, you have to pay to work

The Institute for Public Housing in Naples employs about 100 people. When the office is open to the public, employees receive residents who live in the 40,000 houses managed by the institute. Their task is to find solutions to citizens’ problems and trigger the bureaucratic procedures to solve them. But managing these chaotic lives within rigid legal structures is not an easy task and employees are often forced to resort to a singular art: “bureaucratic compromise”. (Tënk)

A whirlwind of activity sweeps us into the daily routine at the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Ciccio “O' Pazz” and Ciruzzo “Pesce bello”, are two powerful, blood-soaked Mafia characters. The legacy left to them is a violent, depraved narrative of murderous dominion over the weak. But still, enemies muscling their way into this realm of the wretched. These apparently harmless enemies are nevertheless viewed as potential usurpers by Ciccio and Ciruzzo, who, alienated by their imposed surroundings, develop a deep paranoia towards two animals: Severino, leader of the famous donkeys of Campu Perdu, and Piero, top boar around the Olive field area. The day of reckoning is near. There has to be a showdown. They have to get rid of the two animals. There's no way around it. A letter is delivered. A Pinter-like ultimatum with a crystal-clear demand: it's you or us. Men or animals. Coexistence is out of the question. Power has room for only one big chief. The final, inevitable apocalypse draws near.

Idrissa Koné, aka Birco Clinton, lives in an asbestos container on the eastern outskirts of Naples and has a dream: to become the king of the coupé décalé music genre. In order to succeed, he has created l'armée rouge, a band of young people from the Ivory Coast who support him and help him organise his big Christmas party.

At the foot of Vesuvius, the celebration of Our-Lady-of-the-Hens is still tinged with paganism. While Fonzino prepares a ritual altar, Biagio leads the femminielli, the transgender masters of a cult where dance and song have a cathartic energy.

It's a documentary that examines the development of a group of teenage kids from the outskirts of Naples and their involvement in a theatre group. Chiara Stella, Domenico and Alessio are all 15 years old and every Monday they go to theatre classes at the Centro Asterix, a recreational space with a small theatre, located in San Giovanni in Teduccio, a district in the eastern suburbs of Naples. The film closely follows the relationships between the children and their teachers; Nicola encourages the children to look into themselves and find ways of facing life with a conscious and above all calm approach. The stories, the needs and personalities of Chiara Stella, Domenico and Alessio emerge through crises, successes and reflection; they open up to each other thanks to the methods and direction of Nicola and through improvisation on the stage. The theatre thus becomes a space for discussion and self-analysis.