Michele Placido honoured at Taormina, unveils Rai series on mafia-slain judge Livatino and calls out young directors' self-censorship

A career crown in Taormina

On the festival's closing night, Placido was awarded the Taormina Film Festival Achievement Award. Taking the stage, he recalled his early work on 'Pummarò', a pioneering film about the exploitation of undocumented African workers, and praised Italy's long civil-cinema tradition, citing directors Francesco Rosi, Elio Petri and Damiano Damiani. He then turned to the present, arguing that today's young directors lack courage.

“In today's Italian cinema there is unfortunately a kind of self-censorship. Young directors are afraid and prefer to steer toward tamer and more reassuring stories. The courage to tackle certain themes is lacking.”

Livatino: the judge and the method

The series, titled 'Il giudice e i suoi assassini' and destined for Rai 1, centres on Rosario Livatino, a Sicilian magistrate ambushed and killed by members of the 'Stidda' mafia in Agrigento in September 1990. Livatino was beatified by Pope Francis in 2021 as a martyr killed 'in odium fidei'. Placido said he uncovered new judicial documents that illuminate the magistrate's anti-mafia strategy.

“I discovered new documents that practically show how he used a methodology to fight the mafia in line with that of Falcone and Borsellino, that is, seizure of assets and bank accounts.”

The role of Livatino will be played by Giuseppe De Domenico.

Pope Francis's personal investment

Pope Francis summoned Placido for what was scheduled as a half-hour meeting but stretched to an hour and a half. The pontiff, Placido recalled, greeted him with the words 'Michele, Michele, I know you will be the director,' and wanted to understand every detail of the project as the beatification process was underway.

“The Pope wanted a work capable of touching people's intimacy.”

A lost courage and a film on Celestine V

Placido contrasted the self-censorship he perceives in younger filmmakers with the example of Oliver Stone, who has repeatedly called Rosi his master. He also revealed another Rai project: a film about Pope Celestine V, the 13th‑century hermit pope whom Dante placed in the Inferno. Placido, at 80, takes the lead role, playing an 87‑year‑old pontiff. Shooting took place in Abruzzo and, he said, he was satisfied with his own performance, having feared the physical demands of the role.