Io capitano
15
Why watch?
“A triumph of a film! The unbreakable bond of the boys, the vast scale of their journey is beautifully shot, the determination and ability to rise to the challenge and become men whilst wanting nothing but their mothers. I loved this film, and it must be seen BIG.”
Mosa,
Creative Engagement Officer
In this acclaimed film which won top directing and acting prizes at the Venice Film Festival, writer and director Garrone presents a "reverse shot" of the immigration experience while unfurling an epic, cinematographically magnificent odyssey from West Africa to Italy.
The story is told through the mind’s eye and experiences of two Senegalese teenagers living in Dakar who yearn for a brighter future in Europe. Yet between their dreams and reality lies a treacherous journey through a labyrinth of checkpoints, the scorched Saharan desert, a fetid North African prison and the vast waters of the Mediterranean, where thousands have died packed inside vessels barely fit for passage.
Details
“Garrone’s film has a three-dimensional and devastatingly realized human soul at its core. The world could do with paying attention to Seydou’s story and the millions of other real ones like it.”
IndieWire
“The late film critic Roger Ebert called movies an “empathy machine,” and “Io Capitano” stands as Garrone’s plea for empathy in a debate that sorely lacks it.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“You can get the facts about these migrants anywhere, but Garrone knows the tool of cinema is more effective. By presenting these adolescents in all their fragility and strength, he comes as close as is possible to getting us to feel how they felt. Io Capitano is as unflinching as it is robust with empathy.”
Los Angeles Times