"The Godfather is a masterpiece, but the Sicilian mafia is a lot less glamorous" - filmmaker Pif on "The Mafia Kills Only in the Summer"

Chronicling decades of the Sicilian mafia's history, The Mafia Kills Only in the Summer (La Mafia Uccide Solo d'Estate) is the coming of age of a kid living in Palermo who is brought up in the middle of the violent conflict between the mafia and the state. The film shares an insightful and realistic point of view, but instead of utilizing a melodramatic structure it often resorts to a rewarding comedic approach.

I had a chance to meet and talk with the filmmaker and protagonist of the film in London at the film's UK premiere. You can listen to the full interview in Italian on FRED Film Radio by clicking here.

Click here to read the full review of THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN THE SUMMER on CineCola

MATT MICUCCI: WAS IT CHALLENGING TO REPRESENT SUCH A DELICATE THEME THROUGH THE USE OF COMEDY?
PIF: It was a challenge that I took on head on a little recklessly. I thought about whether or not someone might get mad, but I was so sure about the message that I wanted to convey through this film that I just decided to go with it. In the end, thankfully, no one got mad - not least of all the families of the victims of the mafia, in fact some of them have even thanked me.

MM: ALSO BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY REAL FILM, THAT HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH OTHER WORKS SUCH AS THE GODFATHER - STILL VERY MUCH SHAPING PEOPLE'S PERCEPTIONS OF THE ITALIAN MAFIA INTERNATIONALLY SPEAKING...
PIF: Yes, while really that was the American Mafia...the Sicilian mafia is a lot less glamorous. I mean, The Godfather is a masterpiece, there is no doubt about it, but I really wanted to show things as they really were. I didn't want to stop and make postcards for the foreigners.

MM: HALF OF THE FILM IS SEEN THROUGH A KID'S PERSPECTIVE. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN USING THIS POINT OF VIEW?
PIF: A child puts to practice whatever an adult tells him. In so doing, he highlights the contraddictions and the falsities of adults. So, he repeats the sentences of Andreotti, and there is no malice in it. It's not his fault. In reality, it was Andreotti's fault - he was the one who was saying one thing and doing something entirely different. It's clear that Andreotti was the type of guy who either understood everything or hadn't understood a thing. And now, after all the trials and tribulations, we have indeed discovered that at least up until the eighties he was in cahoots with the mafia.

MM: BY PUTTING YOURSEL IN THE SECOND PART OF THE FILM, YOU KIND OF REPRESENT A GENERATIONS OF SICILIANS THAT LIVED THROUGH THOSE YEARS. IN FACT, YOU YOURSELF HAVE LIVED THROUGH THESE TIMES. WHAT WAS THE ATMOSPHERE LIKE?
PIF: It was paradoxical. Us from Palermo never denied the existance of the mafia. Among us, we weren't saying that the mafia didn't exist, it was more like we were saying that it wasn't dangerous for us if you weren't one of them. I mean, we were cautious about it - my mother would tell me that people would lower their tone when speaking about ambiguous things. If they killed someone that was important, from a medic to a mafioso, it was generally accepted that it could have been one of two things - either gambling problems or women trouble. This made the mafia happy because they could carry on doing whatever they were doing. The average guy from Palermo could also be content and wouldn't be bothered. But in all honesty we left all those judges and people who were determined to expose the mafia alone.