“NINO. 18 GIORNI” (“NINO. 18 DAYS”), THE DOCUMENTARY FILM DIRECTED BY HIS SON TONI D’ANGELO
The soul of Neapolitan people, the artist who transformed Neapolitan music into universal poetry while remaining faithful to his roots
NINO D’ANGELO
PREVIEW OUT OF COMPETITION AT THE 82ND VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, A DEEP STORY IN THE HEART OF AN EXTRAORDINARY EXISTENCE, GUIDED BY A PASSION FOR HIS CITY AND FOR THE PEOPLE OF HIS SONGS
SPECIAL EVENT FROM NOVEMBER 20th IN THEATERS
Produced by Isola Produzioni with RAI Cinema, MAD Entertainment, Stefano Francioni produzioni, Di.Elle.O, in collaboration with Archivio Audiovisivo del movimento operaio e democratico ETS and Waterclock
Produced with the contribution of the fund for the development of investments in cinema and audiovisual media
Of Ministero della cultura in collaboration with Regione Campania and Film Commission Regione Campania
Distributed by Nexo Studios
in collaboration with media partner Radio LatteMiele and Mymovies
NINO. 18 GIORNI, a documentary film about Nino D’Angelo directed by his son Toni D’Angelo, will be previewed Out of Competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. It is an intense and touching story that delves into the soul of an artist capable of crossing genres, stages, and generations, while always remaining true to his roots.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Year of production: 2024-2025
Duration: 86 minutes
Genre: documentary film
Language: Italian
CREDITS
SUBJECT AND SCREENPLAY TONI D’ANGELO, ROBERTO MOLITERNI
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK CESARE PICCO, NUCCIO TORTORA
DOP ROCCO MARRA, MARCELLO MURO
EDITING ERIKA MANONI
PRODUCED BY TONI D’ANGELO, LUCIANO, CARLO E LORENZA STELLA, MARIA CAROLINA TERZI, STEFANO FRANCIONI, ANNAMARIA GALLO
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SAVERIO DI BIAGIO
SOUND ENGINEERS AMITT DARIMUNDUR, DANIELE MARANI, ANTONIO CASPARIELLO
MIX ENGINEER ANDREA MALAVASI
SOUND EDITING RICCARDO LANDI
SYNOPSIS
In the 1980s, Nino D’Angelo was the most famous blonde bob in Italy after Raffaella Carrà. Today, he no longer has a bob and no longer sings the songs that made him famous back then, such as “’Nu jeans e ‘na maglietta.” His hair has turned gray, even though he still gets it cut by the same barber who invented the bob. He lives in Rome, surrounded by his large family, and his music—which he composes in a small studio on the Cassia—has the sound of the Mediterranean. His latest concert at the Maradona Stadium in Naples is a definitive farewell to the 1980s, to the bob, and to that type of music. Sharing this moment with him, hidden behind a cell phone, is his son, Toni, a director. He peppers him with questions, recording everything, especially the most intimate moments. Who was his father in the 1980s? How did he rise from absolute poverty to success and wealth? And why, once he had achieved success, when Toni was a child, did they have to leave the city that had made his father famous? To find answers to these questions, in “NINO. 18 GIORNI” Toni D’Angelo follows his father around Italy, during the stages of his tour or the organization of new events, and, at the same time, takes him back to the places of his childhood: San Pietro a Patierno, the neighborhood of Naples where he grew up, and Casoria, a town on the outskirts of Naples where he became a man, a singer, and a father. The prelude to this journey was the 18 days Nino spent in Palermo: when Toni was born, Nino was there, busy with the first play that made him famous. It was an unexpected success that lasted a long time and delayed the meeting between father and son by 18 days. Today, years later, Nino and Toni—who has become a father himself—are trying to reclaim that lost time to rediscover and reconnect with each other.
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
My father is my greatest mystery. There is nothing closer to me and nothing further away at the same time. I speak Roman dialect and he speaks Neapolitan; I grew up in comfort and among the middle class, he grew up in poverty and among the people, on the streets. There is probably a great distance between every father and every son, due to the generational change, but between us it is as if this gap has been magnified by the social and cultural leap my father made thanks to his incalculable success in the 1980s. It has always been this great distance that has intrigued me and pushed me to find out more, not only about him, about what I did not experience of his life, because I was not yet born or because I have no memory of the period when I was too young (which coincides with the height of his success), but also about his world, about what surrounded him, and which to those of my generation may seem like stories from another world: the artists’ market at the Galleria Umberto I, the shoes produced for American soldiers near the airport during World War II, the radios for migrants in the large industrial cities of the North… As a director, curiosity means thinking in images. That’s why curiosity has translated over time into a desire to make a film about him. A desire I would have had even if he weren’t my father. Except that a traditional cinematic approach, with the techniques available until a few years ago, would have been really cumbersome in our relationship and in this exploration of his story. My father, by profession, is used to cameras, to being the center of attention. However, he is very private about his personal life and has never allowed anyone to film him outside of the set or stage. For this reason, my curiosity, although very strong, remained unexpressed for a long time. This was also due to my own embarrassment in telling it, despite my desire to do so. But then one day, while filming him playing with my son, I realized that he was not at all embarrassed in front of the cell phone and that this medium allowed me to write his story in a more intimate and personal way, as if I were taking notes with a pencil. Then everything changed, and we found a peaceful way to both be part of a film that was his incredible story of ups and downs, which saw him become one of the most popular faces in Italian music in the 1980s and then, when it seemed he was about to fall, he experienced a profound crisis that led him to present himself this time as a singer-songwriter, appreciated by both critics and the public. I was behind many of these ups and downs, and I know things about my father that no one else knows. Now is the time to tell them together with him as a man, with the awareness of having become a father myself, and above all with the eye of a director, ready to give back to as wide an audience as possible—not only those who have always followed my father – a figure who deserves to be revealed in his entirety, because at a certain point in Italian history, at the turn of the century, being Nino D’Angelo meant being the voice of millions of Italians who could not express their feelings about love, life, dreams, and hopes in any other way than through his songs. It meant, in practice, being the most popular, boisterous, and poetic soul of this ramshackle country.
Toni D’Angelo
TONI D’ANGELO
Toni D’Angelo (Naples, 1979) is a director, screenwriter, and producer. After spending his childhood in Rome, he studied at the DAMS in Bologna and Roma Tre University, where he graduated with a thesis on the cinema of Abel Ferrara. From 2002 to 2004, he worked as Ferrara’s assistant, collaborating on the writing of scripts and co-directing the video clip “Move with Me.” During the same period, he made his first short films, including “Bukowski,” “Casoria,” and “L’uomo che amava gli ascensori” (The Man Who Loved Elevators), marking a personal and visual debut that anticipated the traits of his cinema. He made his feature film debut with “Una notte” (2007), which earned him a David di Donatello nomination for best new director. In 2009, he made “Poeti,” a documentary selected for the 66th Venice Film Festival, followed by “L’innocenza di Clara” (2011), in competition at Montreal, and the short film “Ore 12” (2014), presented at the Rome Film Festival. Venice Film Festival, followed by L’innocenza di Clara (2011), in competition at Montréal, and the short film Ore 12 (2014), presented at the Rome Film Festival, a short, tense work that depicts underground and collective violence. In 2015, he directed Filmstudio Mon Amour, a tribute to a legendary place in Italian cinema, which earned him a special Nastro d’Argento award.
This was followed by Falchi (2016), an urban noir produced by Rai Cinema and Minerva Pictures, and the short film Nessuno è innocente (2018), selected for Venice Critics’ Week. With Calibro 9 (2019), presented at the Turin Film Festival, a contemporary reinterpretation of the Italian crime thriller, Toni D’Angelo signed his most ambitious project, confirming a cinema rooted in reality, visually clear and narratively restless, permeated by a constant civil and existential tension. In 2023, he founded the production company Isola Produzioni.
NINO D’ANGELO
The song gave its name to an album that sold over a million copies and to a film that grossed almost as much at the box office as Flashdance. Her image with her bob haircut became an icon for all the kids in the working-class neighborhoods of the South. In 1986, almost by popular demand, he participated for the first time in the Sanremo Festival with the song “Vai” and signed his first real contract with a major record label, Ricordi. During the same period, Nino devoted himself to other box office hits, such as Uno scugnizzo a New York, La ragazza del metrò, and Popcorn e patatine. The “Nino D’Angelo phenomenon” also crossed national borders with a series of tours abroad. In 1991, he felt the need for a change, for a new artistic path: it was a very complex and delicate transition in Nino’s career, as he was known only for his “bob,” his highly successful films, and the millions of records he had sold. He decided to abandon his famous blond hair and write songs that told not only love stories but also stories about everyday life. This led to the creation of albums that were profoundly different from his previous ones: “E la vita continua” (1991), “Bravo ragazzo” (1992), and ‘Tiempo’ (1993), the latter certainly the least sold but the most appreciated by critics, who began to take an interest in the social content of his songs, and certainly considered by the artist himself to be “the turning point album.” The first acclaim for this new artistic path soon followed: Roberta Torre, then a young emerging director, presented “La vita a volo d’angelo” (Life in Flight) at the Venice Film Festival, a film adaptation of Nino’s story. a year later, the same director entrusted him with the soundtrack for her first feature film, Tano da morire, which won numerous awards, including the coveted David di Donatello, Globo d’Oro, Ciak d’Oro, and Nastro d’Argento awards. At the age of forty, with ‘A nu pass’ d’a città, Nino made yet another artistic breakthrough, perhaps his most complex, allowing him to blend popular melodies with sounds bordering on jazz, ethnic music, and world music. In 1998, Nino co-hosted the Sanremo “Dopofestival” with Piero Chiambretti, where he returned the following year as a singer in the competition with the iconic “Senza giacca e cravatta.” Meanwhile, non-musical cinema discovered him as an actor and cast him in Paparazzi, Vacanze di Natale 2000, and Tifosi (with Diego Armando Maradona). In June 2000, Nino directed “Aitanic,” a parody of the famous blockbuster, which also saw him make his debut as a director and for which he received the “Premio Fregene per Fellini” for the soundtrack. In theater, he dedicated himself to the rediscovery of Raffaele Viviani, staging “L’ultimo scugnizzo,” which earned him the Gassman Award.
In the fall of 2001, the album “Terranera” was released, which was highly acclaimed, especially by critics. In 2002, Nino participated in the Sanremo Festival with the song “Marì,” which was included in the compilation album “La festa” to celebrate his 25-year career. In April, he was in the cast of Pupi Avati’s film “Il cuore altrove” (The Heart Elsewhere), winning the Flaiano Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2003, he was back in Sanremo with “’A storia ‘e nisciuno” (Nobody’s Story), and in May, the album “’O schiavo e ‘o rre” (The Slave and the King) was released. He then played Viviani again in the plays “Guappo di cartone” and ‘Zingari’ and took part in the Golden Stage Song Festival in Brasov, Romania, where “Senza giacca e cravatta” topped the charts. In February 2005, Nino presented the album “Il ragù con la guerra” at the “Museo della Canzone Napoletana.” In December, he returned to the Augusteo Theater in Naples with the autobiographical musical “Core pazzo,” which was so successful that it remained on stage until May of the following year. In 2006, he was appointed artistic director of the Trianon Viviani Theater in Naples, which, thanks to his work, became a cultural center of reference not only for the Forcella district but for the entire city. In the same year, he returned to the set as an actor for the first film directed by his son Toni, entitled “Una notte” (One Night).
“Gioia nova” is the album released in 2007, inspired by the birth of his first granddaughter. It was followed by a highly successful theater tour throughout Italy. In 2008, appointed artistic director of the “Festa di Piedigrotta,” Nino invited Sophia Loren, José Carreras, Lucio Dalla, and many other artists to Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples for a memorable celebration that was an international success. On July 8, he was among the guests of honor at “Vaimò 2008 Live,” Pino Daniele’s concert in Piazza del Plebiscito, which brought together the historic bands of the unforgettable Neapolitan guitarist. At the end of the year, he realized the project he had had in mind for years: “DangelocantaBruni,” an album and theatrical show paying tribute to the great artist Sergio Bruni. It was a success with audiences and critics alike: another challenge won. In December 2009, Nino returned to the stage at the Teatro Trianon, paying homage to Mario Merola with the classic “Lacreme napulitane.” In 2010, he returned to the Ariston to perform the song “Jammo ja’” at the 2010 Sanremo Festival. At his side was Maria Nazionale. In December 2011, the tour of “C’era una volta… un jeans e una maglietta” (Once upon a time… a pair of jeans and a T-shirt) began. This is a great autobiographical one-man show, linked to “Nu jeans e ‘na maglietta,” the song that launched him in the early 1980s, literally sparking the “D’Angelo phenomenon.” The tour will continue throughout 2012. In January of this year, the new album Tra terra e stelle (Between Earth and Stars) was released. On October 21, 2013, “Memento/momento per Sergio Bruni da Nino D’Angelo” (Memento/moment for Sergio Bruni by Nino D’Angelo) will be staged at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, with the participation of Roberto De Simone and Mimmo Palladino, directed by Davide Iodice: a new adventure that combines the most popular and noble aspects of Neapolitan music, strongly desired by Nino to commemorate a great artist. ‘Concerto Anni 80…e non solo’ (Concert 80s…and beyond) is the title of the 2014 and 2015 tour that Nino brings to the stage in the largest theatres and arenas in Italy and Europe. The great success of this show is captured in a double album released at the end of 2015, distributed by Universal Music Italia. In 2016, Nino returned to the artistic direction of the Teatro Trianon Viviani in Forcella, as well as producing and staging the autobiographical show “Io, senza giacca e cravatta” (Me, without a jacket and tie). In 2017, the film Falchi was released: the soundtrack was created by Nino and directed by his son Toni. Nino D’Angelo 6.0 is the name of the tour dedicated to his 60th birthday, celebrated at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples on June 24, 2017, with a big concert event, accompanied by many friends and colleagues. The tour, in addition to becoming a triple CD, reached the most important theaters in Italy and Europe, selling out practically everywhere. On December 1, 2018, a new stop was added to his perpetually sold-out “Concerto 6.0”: the historic Le Bataclan theater in Paris hosted Nino. He then returns to the Trianon Viviani as director of “Lacreme napulitane,” the historic play dedicated to Mario Merola, starring Francesco Merola, Gloriana, and many other Neapolitan artists. 2019 will be a year full of commitments and new developments: Nino returns to the Sanremo Festival alongside the young Livio Cori with the song “Un’altra luce” (Another Light) and, while “Concerto 6.0” continues, a major concert event with Gigi D’Alessio has been confirmed. The two artist-friends will perform on September 20, 21, and 22, 2019, at the Arena Flegrea in Naples with the show “Figli di un re minore” (Children of a Minor King); the tour will continue with other dates throughout Europe. In October 2021, a unique artistic project with the same title, “Il poeta che non sa parlare” (The poet who cannot speak), will be released: an album with nine unreleased tracks and one cover (produced by Di.Elle. O and distributed by Believe), a book of anecdotes from his life (Baldini+Castoldi), accompanied by verses from the singer-songwriter’s songs that link some of his personal experiences, and another sold-out tour. “Il poeta che non sa parlare” is also a tour that has sold out arenas and theaters across Europe. Also in 2021, artist Jorit created a mural tribute to Nino in San Pietro a Patierno, commissioned by the residents of the Neapolitan neighborhood where he was born, as a tribute for always being close to the people with his works. June 29, 2024, is a date that will go down in history for Nino and the city of Naples. At the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, over 40,000 spectators attended the concert-event “My wonderful 80s and beyond”: 50 songs, over two hours of concert and a surprise appearance by Marco Mengoni reminded everyone who the boy with the bob cut was and how far he has come. The show will also be released as a box set containing two CDs and a DVD. 2024 is a special year full of successes: in November, the third season of the TV series “Vita da Carlo” with Carlo Verdone was released, in which Nino plays himself, as in the TV series “Uonderbois” released in December. The project “I miei meravigliosi anni ’80 e non solo” (My wonderful 80s and beyond) will continue throughout 2024 and 2025, with a world tour that will take in not only Europe but also America. In 2025, Nino’s life will be explored in the documentary “Nino. 18 giorni” (Nino. 18 days), directed by Toni D’Angelo: an opportunity to see the career of the “Neapolitan singer” not only as an artist, but above all and specifically as Gaetano, as a father. In short, through the eyes of a son.
Press release from Parole & Dintorni, Nexo Studios.
