Il signor Rotpeter: Kafka-inspired film by Antonietta De Lillo

Antonietta De Lillo's film 'Il signor Rotpeter,' inspired by Franz Kafka's 1917 story 'A Report to an Academy,' premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The film stars Marina Confalone as Rotpeter, a chimpanzee who becomes human. Confalone had previously performed the Kafka story at the University of Naples Federico II, inspiring De Lillo. The narrative interweaves fragments of Kafka's academic lecture with a present-day interview. Rotpeter walks through Naples, visiting the Molosiglio gardens, the university steps, and the Capodimonte woods, observing families. He chooses variety over the zoo, embodying themes of freedom, survival, and transformation. De Lillo describes the character as an homage to creativity and culture, offering a way out through imagination. The film awaits distribution, possibly on Netflix.