Elio of Elio e le Storie tese, who is registered as Stefano Belisario in civil records, has decided to make his directorial debut. He will do so with a feature-length film titled La Crepa e, co-written by himself and Piero Bodrato. Described as “a biting comedy inspired by the reality of families with autistic youths,” the movie stars Pietro Sermonti, Cochi Ponzoni, Galatea Bellugi, Donatella Finocchiaro, Margherita Vicario, Geppi Cucciari, Paolo Rossi and Elio.
The singer and musician has been actively involved for several years in awareness campaigns about autism in Italy, and regarding his debut project, he remarked:
The ambitious goal is to portray autism in its everyday reality—marked by effort, struggle, but also joy. It won’t be easy, but I will be able to rely on the help of a squad of excellent actors and the young people of PizzAut.
You should know that PizzAut is an employment placement experience for autistic individuals created by Nico Acampora. The foundation runs restaurants and food trucks, and both Acampora and several of the people who found work at these facilities will appear in the film. In this regard, Carlo Cresto-Dina and Manuela Melissano, producers for Tempesta, offered the following comment:
For us, producing an inclusive film is essential. It is now unacceptable to see roles of neurodivergent people played only by neurotypical actors. We are not interested in making a film about PizzAut, but in making it with them.
La Crepa is produced by Tempesta in collaboration with Rai Cinema, in coproduction with Cinédokké, and will be distributed in theaters by 01 Distribution.
Elio is no stranger to cinema, even though he has never directed a film. Besides portraying himself, he has acted in Asini, Ci vuole un gran fisico, Improvvisamente a Natale mi sposo, Gloria! and Tutta colpa del rock. With his band he composed the soundtrack for Tutti gli uomini del deficiente. For the series Boris he wrote the theme song “Gli occhi del cuore”, while for Boris – Il Film he is the author of the track “Pensiero Stupesce!”.
Stefano Belisario is also a voice actor, and indeed he lent his voice to the character Paul in the film Paul. He has also handled the Italian dialogue for Austin Powers – La spia che ci provava. He later took on the roles of Arne and the narrator in Terkel in Trouble, Chester V in Piovono polpette 2 – La rivincita degli avanzi, Ox in Pupazzi alla riscossa, and Dillo l’armadillo in Ainbo – Spirito dell’Amazzonia. Finally, Elio has lent his talent to television, radio, and theater.
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