“It’s a story that probably no one would have told.” For this reason Luca Telese He chose the role of director for the first time. To tell something that had immediately fascinated him “epidermally” in a new dimension. A story that, once explored, turned out to be “perfect for a movie.” It was born that way state of gracethe documentary that tells the story of Ambrogio Crespi. Convicted with final punishment six years in prison For external competition In the mafia association, Crespi has always declared himself innocent, the victim of a miscarriage of justice. But he accepted the verdict without losing faith in justice. As a director, he has created works of strong civic engagement. He decided to redeem himself through his art. He talked about it legality and from Combating crimewhich – in a historic decision by the Milan supervisory court – gives him the right to wait for the decision outside prison Sergio Mattarella about his fate: nine years after his arrest, the President of the Republic granted him one in September 2021 partial grace. After the rise, fall and drama, there is also the final twist. “The state of grace is a path of resurrection – explains Telese to ilfattoquotidiano.it –. With the help of numerous testimonies (including that of the director of ilfattoquotidiano.it Peter Gomez, ed.), Ambrose’s transition from hell to paradise is recounted, when he now seemed destined to be among the damned.” The documentary is presented Wednesday September 6th To Venice in the context of Film festival For Venice production bridge.
On the one hand, there were those who accused him of being a mafioso, and on the other hand, there were those who praised his commitment to fighting crime. Crespi’s story was controversial. Why did you decide to tell them?
This short circuit was the trigger: something was wrong with Ambrogio’s story. We met for work and when I heard his story, I wanted to know more. I couldn’t believe he was involved in something like that Buying votes for the Calabrian mafia To Milan. He’s a normal person who ended up in a situation incredible case: a partial pardon of a person convicted of external complicity in a Mafia association by a President of the Republic who was a victim of the Mafia. Something that has never happened before. I decided to tell it, and I wanted the narrative to remain outside the ongoing civil war between politics and the judiciary. There are no good or bad judges at the State of Grace. Those who free him are judges, and those who condemn him are judges.
Although Crespi considers himself a victim of a miscarriage of justice, he has always stated that he believes in justice. Does State of Grace inspire the same confidence?
Yes, because the system is capable of reforming itself. In the film we reconstruct a very interesting way in which educators, judges and prison directors who mobilize end up using a way fourth degree of judgment. Except that through a series of small miracles, Ambrogio’s story had a happy ending. The healthy world around him and solidarity protected him. But anyone who saves themselves doesn’t have to be a hero. The system should have antibodies that fire under normal conditions. “State of Grace” isn’t just Ambrose’s uplifting story. He is a pioneering figure who brought light to something that would otherwise have remained dark. We must enter the prison with the lantern and this society must understand that the function of rehabilitation is not a statement. Dismantling the mechanism by which the key is thrown away after the verdict is announced. Too often we see prison as the end point. Instead, this is the moral of this film The journey begins there.
Is a cultural revolution needed in the way incarcerated people and their rehabilitation pathways are viewed? Did Crespi use his art as a weapon, the others?
In Italy we have a completely distorted idea of prison and punishment. We never remember the problem of class equity. The majority of people in it are poor people. As it is, the system has exploded. Prison is only the dimension of the poor and the damned. Ambrogio is an ordinary person, but his story still received wide media coverage. Let’s think about how many people don’t go to the newspapers with equally crazy stories.
The film focuses heavily on the human aspect of Crespi’s story. His wife Helene Pacitto is the main voice and the testimonies of his children also play an important role
In these cases, children are often seen as psychological blackmail for the viewer. However, I thought the opposite. They are protagonists, they were shaped by what happened to their father. Their stories are impressive. Elementary age children who can finally express what they have felt over the years. The fears and doubts they had felt about citizenship sparked catharsis. There’s a scene where they reveal that they lied to protect their parents’ feelings. Children can’t stay out of this story or they won’t understand the drama. When Ambrogio left home to go to prison, he told them that he was leaving on a journey secret mission.
And why the decision to never let Crespi, the main protagonist, speak?
Because it’s like he’s talking the whole movie. It kind of is Spirit, a presence. We decided to give a voice to everyone who was with him during those years, to all the witnesses. For me the word was more important Helena, instead of Ambrose. It was an instinctive decision. The viewer enters the story subjectively, not through the gaze of the story’s protagonist. Ambrogio would not have added anything else to the filters from the other testimonies. If he has something to say, he can do it in Venice.
Speaking of Venice, “State of Grace” screens at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, two years after Mattarella’s partial pardon
Cinema is a kind of super synthesis. In September 2021, Ambrogio walked the red carpet with a prison permit accompanying his documentary Spes contra spem: Free inside. Now he goes there in his best form: as the protagonist of his own story. We jokingly told him: Now you won’t be able to return to Venice without being punished. He became very angry.
This is your first experience as a director, especially directing a documentary where the main protagonist is a director. How did it go?
It’s a gift that Ambrogio gave me. I did “State of Grace,” but without him I would never have been able to direct my first film. Cinema is a completely different language. The dimension of history changes radically. It allows you to persevere one hundred minutes such a complicated story. And thanks to the film, his story is now out in the world, it’s no longer just his. Then the fact remains that Crespi is a director. Even though he is in the cruelest state of captivity, he never stops being a director. It’s in his blood. It is a sacred dimension. When he came to shoot, he gave a direction. When I consulted him, he gave some advice. Whether analogue or otherwise, his artistic influence was present.