Matteo Garrone: Io Capitano Film Screening and Q&A with the Director

Cornell in Rome Spring 2025 Lecture Series

Abstract

Io Capitano tells the story of the adventurous journey of Seydou and Moussa, two young men who leave Dakar to make their way to Europe. A contemporary odyssey through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centers in Libya, and the perils of the sea.

Director's Notes:
Io Capitano recounts the epic journey of two young men from Senegal who make their way across Africa—and through myriad dangers—in pursuit of a dream called Europe. We began by listening to the actual accounts of people who have survived this infernal ordeal, and we decided to orient the camera from their perspective so as to tell this contemporary odyssey from their point of view. Io Capitano thus offers a sort of reverse shot compared to the images we're used to seeing from our Western perspective in an attempt to finally give voice to those who don't usually have one.

Bio

Matteo Garrone is an Italian film director and screenwriter (Rome, 1968). His first feature film was Terra di Mezzo (1997), followed by Ospiti (1998), special mention at the Venice Film Festival that year), both focusing on the theme of immigration. After the film Estate Romana (2000), public and critical success came in 2002 with L'imbalsamatore (winner of the 2003 David di Donatello for Best Screenplay), in which an unease is explored that deepens further in the tragic and dark aspects of Primo Amore (2004). In 2008, he made Gomorra, based on the book by Roberto Saviano; this ensemble and powerful account of a criminal system and the economic reasons sustaining it won the Grand Prix at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and the 2009 David di Donatello. In 2012, he directed, wrote, and produced Reality, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival that same year, winning the Grand Prix and the 2013 Nastro d'argento for the screenplay. In 2015, he released Il racconto dei racconti, which competed at the Cannes Film Festival and won the David di Donatello for Best Director in 2016. In 2018, Dogman was also presented at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Nastro d'argento for Best Film and Best Director, as well as the David di Donatello in 2019 for Best Screenplay, Best Film, and Best Director. In 2019, Pinocchio won the Nastro d'argento for Best Director in 2020. In 2023, Io Capitano was nominated for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 80th Venice Film Festival, along with the David di Donatello and Nastro d'argento in 2024 for Best Film and Best Director. In 2016, Garrone co-wrote one of the stories for Smash. 15 racconti di tennis with E. Albinati.

4:15 p.m Io Capitano film screening 

6:30 p.m. Q&A with the film director