Lorenzo Cherubini, better
known as Jovanotti, is the star of a new documentary film, The
Immortals, set to premier December 4 on Sky Arte and Sky Uno HD.
In the documentary, cameras follow the Italian singer along
with various individual fans in the lead-up to one of his
stadium concerts last summer at Milan's San Siro.
Although the singer calls it a "filmino" (little movie),
it's actually a feature-length film produced by Jovanotti's own
SoleLuna label and directed by Michele Truglio, that tells the
story of the stages leading up to the San Siro concert.
The film is narrated both from the star's point of view as
well as that of six fans from various parts of Italy as they
prepare to travel to Milan for the live show.
"The entire project took hold during a Christmas lunch in
Cortona," Jovanotti said, following a closed-door premier in
Milan.
"And from the desire to let go of a sort of embarrassment
for having written a song that carries a title as important as
The Immortals, or rather all of us who can experience the
ecstasy of being in the world, that mustn't change even after
what happened in Paris," he said.
In addition to Jovanotti, the film stars Giovanni, a young
quadriplegic who takes a boat from Palermo to travel in stages
to the Milan concert; an entire family from Taranto; Angelo, who
DJs in Rome clubs and has a cover band of his favorite music;
Carolina from Milan who's about to take her high school exams;
and Ed, who goes around with his guitar and ends up on the San
Siro stage to play his cover of Sabato, one of Jovanotti's
latest hits.
There's also an exceptional fan in the story of Tony
Cairoli, an eight-time world motocross champion who has in
common with Jovanotti a passion for the world of two wheels with
an engine underneath.
"The idea was to tell the stories of worlds that are
different from each other without specific reasons, to take a
picture of the cross-section of the audience that characterises
my concerts and that for me has always been a mystery, ever
since the beginning," he said.
"Maybe when I started playing there weren't many adults
following me, but the kids of back then have become adults and
have stayed with me, they come back to the concerts and buy my
albums".
The forthcoming documentary shows the live dimension that
Jovanotti is also carrying out now and in coming weeks, with an
indoor stadium tour in major Italian cities that the voice of
the song Ragazzo Fortunato (Lucky Guy) and all the others didn't
want to cancel after the Paris attacks.
"Two weeks ago everything changed, but I never thought even
for a second to stop, and I would only do it if the police
ordered me to," he said.
"It's necessary to continue, even more so because one of
the most vicious attacks took place in a historic concert hall.
The conditions to keep doing live shows are there, because the
prefectures are careful and because the audience is also willing
to wait in long queues for security checks. In my dressing room
there are bomb-sniffing dogs, and I told the police they can
even bring other types of dogs who are trained in other
substances (laughs) because I have no problem with that. When a
concert starts you forget everything and the lightest things
become an oasis of freedom to defend".
In terms of the Italian musical scene, Jovanotti is one of
the artists that regularly fills indoor and outdoor stadiums in
every corner.
As far as the Paris attacks go, Jovanotti said, "I don't
have a specific message to impart, but I have an attitude of
wanting to stay inside the complexity of things, facing what I
believe in. Paris, like Milan or Rome, more than cities, are
inventions of human intelligence that we have to defend with
multiculturalism, freedom of worship and openness".
After the indoor stadium tour, which on Monday will take
him to Milan's Mediolanum Forum, Jovanotti said he'll take a
break, while his label will continue to promote his recent album
Lorenzo 2015cc, releasing new singles for radio.
And on the TV and movie front, for the moment, there aren't
any other projects in the works.
"I've been given various interesting proposals to act, but
I don't think I'd be capable of interpreting someone who's not
me," he said.
"And I couldn't be a judge in a talent contest either,
because I'd feel like a criminal for eliminating anyone".
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