in the role of RUBEN

Impossible to say no to Giovanni. At least for me. For the great respect I have for him, for all the challenges we have faced together and above all for our long lasting friendship. It all started as a favour: play the character of Ruben for the making of the trailer that Giovanni would promote to collect the necessary funds to shoot Pane dal cielo.

When Giovanni told me the story of the film and the character I would have to play (for a few scenes) I understood that expectations where very high. From that moment on I started to live differently. All of a sudden all the homeless brothers and sisters appeared before me. Those same people who live on the streets that I scarely even noticed before. Milan is full of them. I tried to make friends with some of them with others I just greeted them with a smile instead of my usual indifference. This experience has deeply moved me and in a certain way it has also changed me. The trailer went well and Giovanni asked me to play Ruben in the film.

I am not a professional actor but I understood what Giovanni wanted me to see so I threw myself in that direction. Ruben is an incredibile person. After Annibale and Lilli he is the second one to see the child. How could it be otherwise? Ruben lives and talks every day to Hic, his immaginary friend. Ruben is pure, good , simple and sensitive. I lived with Ruben and Hic for many weeks and the great magic truth is…..that they have never really left me. I love Ruben (and Hic) because they have opened my eyes and they have changed my life. I don’t know that I will ever be able to “see the child” (like Ruben) but I have understood that it depends entirely on me.