Italian youths rally to free screenings film
Thousands of Italians are flocking to illegal free public screenings of a new film about a young man's 2009 death in custody, a potent symbol of police violence and a merciless penal system.
In city piazzas and lecture theatres around the country, community groups and student organizations are showing pirated versions of the Netflix film "Sulla mia pelle", or "On My Skin". The film tells the tragic story of Stefano Cucchi, 31, who was arrested in Rome in October 2009 in possession of 20g of hashish and 2g of cocaine.
Director Alessio Cremonini's film has bounced from the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered last month, into the collective conscience of Italian youths living under a populist, right-wing government.
Some of the 2,000 people who attended a screening at Rome's prestigious La Sapienza university on Friday were reduced to tears. "What happened to Stefano Cucchi could have happened to any one of us," said Teo, a 27-year-old cameraman. Student Luca Matteuzzi said the film was "both hard and beautiful.
