Abel Ferrera, a New York director who talks about religion and redemption, sin, betrayal and violence in his films, has landed in Puglia. The reason for his visit? A film about Padre Pio, with Shia LaBeouf in the role of the unforgettable friar.
What do we know about the film about Padre Pio
"Director Abel Ferrara will make a film about Padre Pio. He was accompanied by Fra Pasquale Cianci in the places of the Padre Pio convent in San Giovanni Rotondo”Reads the Facebook page of Convent Sanctuary Padre Pio. The news had actually been in the air for a while. Interviewed by Variety, the director had told about the project: a film about Padre Pio shot in Italy alone, to show the life of the saint with the stigmata after the First World War. Starting in October, the troupe will move to Puglia. And, with the will to shoot in the places actually lived by the friar without recreating anything in the studio, he will work on the most ambitious project among those that Ferrara has carried out in recent years.
Ferrara has come to Puglia several times, he explored the whole Gargano with specialized guides. Because, although already tied to the region through his wife Giada Colagrande and his fetish actor William Dafoe, his intention is clear: to make a film about Padre Pio that is as authentic as possible. Antonio Parente, director of the Apulia film commission, confirmed it: "A Monte Sant'Angelo found the authenticity of the beginning of the last century, specifically in the Rione Junno, and then it will also be in the hinterland of Dauni Mountains. He became passionate about the Gargano microcosm, the people, the stories. He already once said that in Puglia everything is possible, and we're making sure it really is".
The choice of Shia LaBeouf
It is Abel Ferrara's intention to talk about the figure of Padre Pio, but also to focus on the story of the 14 October 1920. That day, in San Giovanni Rotondo, a dramatic massacre killed thirteen socialists and a carabiniere. Padre Pio was a young monk and in that period his stigmata appeared for the first time. To tell the truth, the director has already covered his life in a short documentary, but now the project is much more ambitious. A project that will be the protagonist Shia LaBeouf.
Converted to Christianity in 2014, while on the set of "Fury", Shia LaBeouf is best known for the sagas of "Transformers" and "Indiana Jones". Several times in trouble with justice, accused of harassment and beatings by ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs, Abel Ferrara said of him: "I hope the film will help him relaunch his career".
Featured photo taken from Wikipedia (credit Georges Biard - CC BY-SA 3.0 and Public domain)
