Boos and homophobic insults at the preview of the film “The Boy in Pink Pants”
The film is inspired by the true story of fifteen-year-old Andrea Spezzacatena, who took his own life after suffering numerous acts of bullying from his schoolmates.
ROME – Homophobic whistles and insults at the preview of the film ‘The Boy in the Pink Pants’. The film, presented at the Rome Film Festival and inspired by the true story of fifteen-year-old Andrea Spezzacatena, who on November 20, 2012 took his own life after being subjected to numerous acts of bullying by his schoolmates, was shown to hundreds of Roman students who, in total ignorance, uttered shocking phrases precisely towards a film that dramatically tells the outcome of bullying and homophobia on the big screen.
During the screening of the film, as reported by the website Gay.it: “For two hours, continuous and gratuitous applause of mockery, giggles, among those who shouted ‘fr*cio’ and those who ‘but this guy is going to kill himself’, precisely in front of a story like that. At the cinema as at the stadium”. ‘The boy with pink pants’, as can be read on the website, “speaks precisely to that generation Z, to those kids who were unable to see it, remaining silent, without laughing, making a racket, vomiting homophobia in the face of a true story that dramatically ended with the suicide of a 15-year-old. Not all the teenagers present were the protagonists of such a circus, it is right to point out, but a part of them, with the gallery transformed into a zoo and teachers in tow in the vast majority of cases guiltily silent. Only one of them stood up, indignant, to reprimand her class, threatening concrete actions. But shortly after her own students started again, with others following suit. So let’s try to put ourselves in the shoes of those who perhaps in the darkness of that room identified with Andrea in the film, those who experience those public and social derision every day, perhaps in silence, without ever talking about it, and even had to endure the mockery cinematographic”.
The reaction of the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, was harsh: “I spoke to the director of the regional school office, Dr. Anna Paola Sabatini, and I asked her to take action to find out who is responsible for this cowardly and squalid behavior. I renew my closeness and solidarity with Andrea’s mother. Bullying must be fought with the utmost severity. As soon as the names of those responsible are known, I will go to their school because I want to meet them personally“.
THE BOY WITH PINK PANTS, THE STORY
Andrea Spezzacatena had just turned 15 when he decided to take his own life. Andrea, an apparently sunny boy, had excellent grades at school and an excellent relationship with his parents. His gesture was therefore totally unexpected and remained without explanation until his mother, after his death, entered his Facebook profile and reconstructed the hell that her son was going through between acts of bullying and cyberbullying at school. The film, narrated by Andrea’s voice from the afterlife, tells us how the boy came to think he had no other way out and represents a powerful warning about the danger of those words and gestures that may seem harmless to us.
IL RAGAZZO DAI PANTALONI ROSA, IL CAST
Acting the role of Teresa Manes, Andrea’s mother, is the actress Claudia Pandolfi, while playing the role of his father will be Corrado Fortuna. The protagonist who plays Andrea is Samuele Carrino, Andrea Arru is Christian – the school bully – and Sara Ciocca plays Sara, Andrea’s best friend. The film is directed by Margherita Ferri and produced by Eagle Pictures and Weekend Films with the screenplay by Roberto Proia.