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BEST OF THE FEST : Souls Of Naples

The incomparable splendor of Naples, situated in the shadow of a volcano and by the blue sea of an enormous bay, inspired Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to the famous statement: See Naples and die. But Naples also has a more complex side. Behind the splendor and pomp that dates from the time when Naples still had great political and social influence, one can also find poverty and adversity. Director Vincent Monnikendam ends in the backstreets and steep alleyways where sunlight barely penetrates, where dark drama and frivolity keep the age-old city in their grip.

The central feature of the film is the painting The Seven Acts of Mercy by Caravaggio, the master of the clair-obscur. Myths about this painting, the history of the Pio Monte, the joy and sorrow of Neapolitans, alternate and combine to form a colorful portrait. In a style inspired by these characteristic light-dark contrasts Souls of Naples provides an inspiring portrait of a city that has survived for two and half thousand years.

Vincent Monnikendam developed himself from journalist to a well-known documentary filmmaker. Between 1981 and 1992 he made documentaries and documentary series focusing on the relationship between the Dutch and the tens of thousand of immigrants in Holland. In 1995 his first independent documentary Mother Dao the Turtlelike (1995), was screened at fifty-two international film festivals and won seventeen awards among them five Grand Prix..

Producers: Sherman de Jesus, Cile van Eijk Screenwriter: Vincent Monnikendam
Cinematographer: Melle van Essen
Editor: Albert Markus