The Gleeks, coming from all over the world, have been waiting for Lea Michele, main character of their favourite TV series, spending the whole night in their sleeping bags in Cittadella del Cinema, heart of Giffoni Film Festival.
The day of the Italo-American actress started with the meet&greet with her fans. All 800 tickets were sold out in less than five minutes. A girl in the audience came with her mum, another asked advice for a tattoo about her. All the questions had a common denominator, the word "inspiration".
In "Glee", that will be broadcasted in Autumn on SkyOne with the sixth and last series made of 13 episodes, Lea Michele plays the role of Rachel Berry, a metaphor of loosers' revenge: at the beginning of the story, the talented student fascinated by Barbra Streisand's myth is socially marginalised. Thanks to the help of other marginalised schoolmates and an anticonformistic teacher, she starts trusting her artistic skills and conquers the stage, as well as the heart of the most popular guy in the school, Finn (played by Cory Monteith, her partner in real life who died last summer at 31 under tragic circumstances).
“In spite of all, my colleagues on the set – goes on the actress – have become my family, they’re like brothers and sisters to me. I’m sorry everything is ending soon, but meanwhile I’ve released my first album Louder (which took me a year and a half work), I’ve been finishing the second one, I’ve written a book based on my life Brunette Ambition and I’ve already started the sequel, which is due to come out at the beginning of 2015. It’s a kind of handbook explaining how to rediscover yourself and pursue your dreams”.
The Festival’s experience has totally enchanted the artist: “My family comes from Naples originally: that’s why I don’t just like Italy, I rather love it. To me Italian fans are the nicest and kindest in the world and I can tell it knowledgeably, having travelled a lot due to my job. I hope to stop here again next summer on the occasion of my latest album promo tour. My heartfelt thank you goes to Glee and to my fans, who have completely changed my life. It means so much to me to be here with you and try to show you the real me. Magazines can’t always show the real person lying behind an artist, while I hope to remain true to myself and keep both feet on the ground, just like my family has taught me".
The same air of expectancy filled Sala Truffaut, where Michele met the jurors.
“I’ve always felt different from other people – she said – since I was a little girl. My mates didn’t share my same pursuits and dreams. Yet, I’ve always been proud of what I am”. That’s how she commented on the theme of the 44th edition of the GFF, “Be Different”. No wonder the value of uniqueness is exactly Glee main theme.
She also told the jurors how much the Glee cast means to her. “Of course I can’t reveal the whole plot, but I’m very happy that Rachel will have the ending I’ve always wished for her. I don’t dare image the shooting last day: we’ve become a real family. It’s going to be very hard”.
In the mean time she looks into the future, brilliant as her character in Glee: "Apart for my forthcoming book, I'm working on my second album, that will be released, like the book, at the beginning of 2015. I would have liked to tour this summer, but I'll be busy with the shooting of Glee. It will be for next year."
She is close to the teens who spent the night here: "I understand them: even if it's easy for my generation to keep in touch with their own idols thanks to the social networks, seeing them in flesh and blood is always a great emotion. I cried when I met Barbra Streisand for the first time", Rachel Berry's idol in Glee as well as Lea's in real life. "I'd like to be for them – she concludes – what Barbra is for me: thanks to her I'm here, she has paved the way to many women of the showbiz".
And that’s exactly what she is, as the crowded meeting with the jury proves. "Thanks Lea", shouts Giffoni.And she thanks them back smiling, with a real artist's charm.