Antonio Barracano (Francesco Di Leva) is the young and vigorous “mayor” of Rione Sanità. Priding himself as a “man of honor,” Barracano presides over the “two cities” of Naples – the legal and the criminal – where he distinguishes between the “decent people and scoundrels.” But when he is asked to help a young man determined to kill his father, Barracano will have to make a choice regarding his own self-imposed moral code.

Based on the play by Eduardo De Filippo, Mario Martone's THE MAYOR OF RIONE SANITÀ had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where it received the Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award. The film would go on to receive seven nominations from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay.

“With THE MAYOR OF RIONE SANITÀ, the Neapolitan director once more creates a contact between cinema and theatre, inspired by Polanski, Fassbinder, Kurosawa, and certainly Hitchcock, moving his characters in large but closed spaces, and putting them in focus with lengthy close-ups.” –Cineuropa

DIRECTED BY MARIO MARTONE
ITALY | 2019 | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES