July 2006. Leonardo Zuliani has vanished. The news from Trastevere in Rome turns into a real national emergency, while a huge throng of followers gathers around the young activist’s house. His mother is beside herself with grief and the entire neighbourhood is paralysed. He’s on every tv channel and the authorities all express their solidarity with the family. Many can’t believe it’s true; they prefer to think it’s just one of his stunts. A genius in conveying his ideas, successful cartoonist, visionary fashion designer, cult author, human rights activist: but who is Leonardo deep down? With the help of leading experts and celebrities, the film traces his life, at last casting light on a key figure of our times.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
Pecore in erba was made to answer one question: is there a new way of speaking about antisemitism nowadays that engages people and increases their awareness of such a delicate topic? This problem, so ancient and unfortunately at the same time so topical, has never really attracted much interest except from a historical point of view. Moreover, in my view modern culture and recent events are making it increasingly hard to identify antisemitism because it often takes forms that are attributed to other impulses. My research was based on a comparison with social developments over the past thirty years and led me to approach the subject satirically, breaking the taboos that were making it impossible for me to tackle it by more classical means. Antisemitism is so deeply rooted that it would be naïve to think it can be spotted only in acts of extreme bigotry and in explicit forms; it is actually far more common and harder to eradicate in its seemingly unconscious manifestations. This film is a way of bringing to light and making fun of this hypocrisy and prejudice (deliberate or otherwise), hopefully prompting reflections on the subtle nuances antisemitism can have and on our way of dealing with it.