An appeal, to young people from a good family man, not to loose the path of values letting themselves be drawn by false illusions. An appeal to work hard because, in order to live, one must be able to gain the respect, a job, dignity. That’s how Vincenzo De Luca, President of Campania Region, presents himself to the Giffoners during the inauguration of the 52nd edition of the Giffoni Film Festival.
To welcome him at the carpet of the Cittadella del Cinema, the founder of Giffoni, Claudio Gubitosi. Along him the president of the Ente Autonomo Giffoni Experience, Pietro Rinaldi, the general manager of Giffoni, Jacopo Gubitosi and the mayor of Giffoni Valle Piana, Antonio Giuliano. Also present were the regional mayors, the President of the province of Salerno, Michele Strianese, civil and military authorities.
Ahead of the historic Sala Truffaut, the gesture that officially gives start to #Giffoni2022: De Luca unveiled a drape with the Campania region’s emblem. Below this, a greeting message for the festival, addressed to all the young people. Giffoni 2022 starts in an explosion of joy, emphasized by the huge amount of young people that already crowd the halls. The meeting is held in the Sala Blu with the young members of Giffoni Impact!. “Young people – Claudio Gubitosi said, introducing President De Luca – will have the opportunity to live ten intense days, that will be very different compared to previous years. They are living a fundamental part of their life in a complicated general context”. To follow, the reading of a message from the president of Italy: “President Mattarella – reads the message signed by Simone Guerrini, Director of the Secretariat Office of the President of Italy – sends you best wishes for the Festival, so that it will replicate, and even exceed the success of the previous editions, and extends a cordial greeting to you, your staff and all the participants”. Then, the vision of two videos: one of them is an advertisement of the current edition from which emerges a crystal-clear message: Giffoni is a place in which you feel at home; then, the greeting of Pope Francis from the last Sunday’s Angelus.
At the close of the meeting, the intervention of Governor De Luca that deals with topics related to actuality: from the need for peace and democracy (non-obvious assets), to the government crisis and environmental matters. An extensive reference to the topic of this edition, the Invisibles, shows De Luca point of view on the increase of poverty and inequalities: “The countries that define themselves ‘civil’ – he said – cannot be indifferent to these problems; I would like them faced in a secular and honest way: we must help who can’t deal with these problems, but we have a duty not to educate young people to parasitism”.
The context is complicated, the world suffered major changes: “The first objective we have to achieve is peace – he continued – so we must dialogue with everyone if we really want to protect it. And then, environment. For centuries, the conquest of water has been ground for conflict among peoples. It is a terribly complicated issue. It is crucial for the viability of the planet”. He continues conversing with the audience, composed exclusively of young people: “You have before you – he said – difficult years. Democracy, as we knew it through generations, no longer exists; the peace we have enjoyed through generations is no longer obvious. Don’t loose the values of solidarity and human respect as your essential points”.
