FOCUS SELENIA ORZELLA – LFF2017
To tell a story
The day my trip to Nemo began. It was August for all of us, without exception. Gallipoli was immersed in a deadly heat wave. I was there to shoot my first reportage and I was going to spend a week in a Catholic community. Staying with the members of the community, sleeping in a dormitory and eating, praying, talking about God but, above all, walking around the town with them offering free hugs and giving it to anyone willing to accept them. On the first day, I nearly had a panic attack. I had embraced the immersive nature of the programme, which made it different from any other Italian TV show, but I was still feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Then I said to myself, “when else will you have a chance to live such an unusual situation again?” And so, I got rid of all preconceived ideas and began to dissolve and let myself go. To tell a story is a great privilege. To tell the stories of people who trust and rely on you is even more of a privilege. I will never forget the people who have shared with me how important faith is in their lives. In my experience, Nemo is more of a journey than it is a television show. A journey that faced me with personal, professional and human challenges and confronted me with worlds extremely different from mine. I happened to work for a Chinese businesswoman
trying to figure out how she managed to succeed in Italy; I met Everard, an English man who lives with 12 silicone dolls who are the only women in his life; I met very young Spanish prostitutes who told me what made them choose to earn a living working in a brothel… And, last but not least, I became a Dame! (I’m not joking, I have a certificate attesting that.) In a few words, I am proud to be part of this innovative and ambitious project and I am definitely staying with this fantastic crew. Always ready to leave, always looking forward to new, fantastic adventures.
