original title:
L'amministratore
directed by:
screenplay:
cinematography:
editing:
producer:
Gianluca Arcopinto, Vincenzo Marra, Valeria Belbusti, Alessandra Buggenig
production:
Axelotil Film, Kinoview, Mediterraneo Film
distribution:
country:
Italy
year:
2013
film run:
71'
format:
DCP - colour
status:
Ready (01/11/2013)
festivals & awards:
Umberto Montella, administrator of a number of buildings in Naples, spends his days working in his office with his family, addressing meetings, gatherings, and everyday problems at a small or large scale. His heterogeneous clientele tells the story of Italy in our time. The administrator is a “Charon” who ferries us into the different essences of the city, in the apartments of the rich and poor, where the conflict with one’s own neighbor often becomes a way to vent steam, to help scrape by.
Director’s statement
I began my journey to tell the story of
my city, Naples. I started with the places that were important
to me or in relation to the moment in history, using my own
working method. First the stadium, then the courthouse,
then the former Italsider factory, and finally the prison. Then
I asked myself what new place could be at the centre of the
story. And I understood that it was to be the home. I wanted
to introduce myself into people’s homes. How could I get
in but still remain “invisible”? The “key” was the apartment
building administrator, the main character of the story, and a
real Charon who would lead me into the hearts and souls of
people, on the sidelines of a great variety of situations. Thanks
to his position, the administrator Umberto Montella brought
me into many different “worlds”, into the houses of the rich
and poor. As he wandered through the city, using my own
method for following him, I was able to capture a slice of life
of these people, which in the end is a slice of life in which the
viewers of my film will recognise themselves.