Daniel Pennac explores Maradona's Naples myth in documentary at Rome Film Fest

At the 17th Rome Film Festival, French writer Daniel Pennac presented his documentary 'Daniel Pennac: ho visto Maradona!', distributed in Italy by Feltrinelli Real Cinema. The film investigates the profound bond between Naples and Diego Armando Maradona, despite Pennac's lack of interest in football. The project began when Pennac found his actor friends—Pako, Demi, Clara, and Ximo Solano—weeping over Maradona's death. He proposed transforming their grief into creation by traveling to Naples to understand the 'Maradona effect'. The documentary blends theater and cinema, featuring Neapolitan actors and writers Maurizio De Giovanni and Roberto Saviano. De Giovanni describes Naples as a capital of the global South where social classes are juxtaposed without physical distance. Saviano recalls attending the 1990 World Cup match Italy vs. Argentina, where Neapolitan fans waved Italian flags but cheered for Maradona, calling him 'the only promise kept for Southern Italy and Naples'. Pennac draws parallels between Maradona and his own character Malaussène, noting both act as father-brother figures for youth and peripheries, and both became scapegoats—Maradona targeted by rival fans' banners and criticized after his death for drug use and mafia associations. However, Pennac insists they are fundamentally different: 'Malaussène never played football, and Maradona never read much.'