Trudie Styler on Making Doc ‘An Ode to Naples,’ Getting Sting to Make a Cameo and Defying the City’s Stereotypes: ‘Immerse Yourself and Do Not Feel Afraid’
Trudie Styler’s documentary “Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples,” which recently premiered on Hulu, is a film that observes the unique southern Italian port city — the backdrop for the hit “Gomorrah” gangster series — with fresh eyes.
The filmmaker’s high-profile doc delves into the belly of Naples, which is known for its resilience, crime and creative energy, partly by knocking on people’s doors. “Posso entrare?” translates as: “Can I come in?”
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Styler’s “Ode” features author Roberto Saviano, whose Neapolitan mob exposé provided the basis for the “Gomorrah” series; Alessandra Clemente, a Naples municipal councillor whose mother was murdered in a gangland shootout; the women involved in Forti Guerriere, an organization against domestic violence and femicide; and a musical performance by Sting, who happens to be Styler’s husband.
The doc is produced by Big Sur, Mad Entertainment and RAI Cinema in co-production with Luce Cinecittà.
Below, Styler speaks to Variety about getting a grasp on the complex city, which Naples native Sophia Loren once said is “a culture onto itself.”
What was your first reaction when you were asked to make this doc?
The question that immediately arose was, “Do you know Naples?” The answer was, “No. I don’t, actually.” So I started to ask myself the question: “Well, why not? Why would you always just go through it and not really immerse yourself into the city?” Then I started asking my friends and colleagues, “Have you ever been to Naples?” “No. Been through it,” that’s the usual response. And you say, “Why?” and those sort of tropes like “dirty” and “dangerous” come up inevitably. So it was with that [in mind] that I said yes, eagerly, to the proposal of making a documentary with nothing on the canvas and without knowing what the angle was, just to get to know the city.
A key guide in unlocking some of the main aspects to Naples is Don Antonio Loffredo, the enlightened parish priest of the Sanità district. He’s really emblematic of the vitality of those who are doing things to redress that reputation. Do you agree?
Absolutely, he is bringing change to Sanità having opened his five churches to more positive activities for the youngsters such as orchestras, acting and even boxing. The biggest challenge in Sanità is keeping kids safe. And the mums are in charge because a lot of the fathers are, as he says, “Either in jail or otherwise absent.”
He anchors the documentary, and a lot of roads led from Don Antonio to more local people. The title of the film is “Posso Entrare?,” Can I Come In? The idea was to tap on the shutters of the “bassi” (living quarters) that are at street level so you can see lives being lived. That was my feminine curiosity to talk to the mums, and to talk to a lot of women in the area.
On a more frivolous note, the piece begins with Neapolitan rapper Clementino performing a sort of origins of Naples rap piece, which I believe was specifically done for the documentary. How did that come about?
Well, I had a few dinners with a few people in high-class Naples circles who said, “It’s very important that you cover our history.” And I said, “Yes, absolutely.” But then I was like “Fuck, how am I going to do this? I don’t want to give a long history seminar here.” I was having a bath one night and I had a eureka moment, “How about I do the 3,000-year history in three minutes? How can I do that?” The answer: rap. I’d met Clementino several times in Ischia, so I called him and had a dinner with him in Naples and said what I wanted. He said, “Yeah, absolutely, I’ve got it,” and then just did this song.
Another key musical moment is when Sting plays the song “Fragile” in front of the Secondigliano prison with a guitar made of wood from migrants’ boats. How did that come about?
Well, Don Antonio told me about this partnership between two prisons, one from the north and one from the south, and the programs within these two prisons where men would be taught to become makers of stringed instruments. And in Secondiliano, the first guitar they ever made was coming out at that time when I was wrapping “Posso entrare?” and he said, “Do you think that Sting would be available to play the first guitar? It would mean a lot to the prisoners.” And I said, “Well, let’s find out.” So we filmed it.
Visually, it’s a very elegant piece. Talk to me about working with the great cinematographer Dante Spinotti.
Well, we’ve known each other since 1987. And then in 2015, he shot my LGBTQ movie “Freak Show.” We’re very good buddies. He’s a unique cinematographer. To have that level of photography in a documentary makes the doc cinematic. That cloudscape that you see, we still talk about it. Because we’d been scouting, and he was using his LS-2 [camera] and we were coming back to the Lungomare [waterfront]. Suddenly, the skies just changed and we both said, “Stop the car.” We got out and just watched as he filmed with the LS-2. I’ve never seen a cloudscape like it before or since, and I sort of feel that that was one of the gifts of the film. We didn’t enhance it. It looks like it’s color corrected. But no, it’s not.
In the end credits, among other people, you thank Luca Guadagnino. I’m curious, did that have anything to do with the fact that you worked with his frequent editor Walter Fasano?
Yes, absolutely. My daughter-in-law, Lucy Cooper, has a non-profit; she’s all things oceans. But she’s made a living as a producer of commercials, and she worked with Luca. I was pondering the conundrum of, “I need to have an editor who speaks very good English” and she said, “Well, you could write to Luca because he knows everybody.” And Luca wrote me and said, “You should use my editor,” and that was Walter. We really hit it off. We’re still in touch about once a week still, so he has become a very good friend and was a wonderful, wonderful collaborator. Very musically gifted.
What would you like the main takeaway of this doc to be, especially for non-Italian viewers?
Go to Naples, look for yourselves. There’s so much to see. There’s so much to learn, not just from the history but from the people themselves. Go and immerse yourself and do not feel afraid.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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