“I came to Lucca for the first time in 2018 and then I thought it was some kind of carnival with a lot of people in strange costumes and things like that,” filmmaker. Manlio Castagna tells Diversity. “But when I entered this incredible walled city, I had the feeling that this was not just a carnival, but a place where people could be happy with their individuality. Lucca Comics & Games is a place where people can be anything they want. They wear masks to show their true selves.”
Castagna is the director of the new documentary I Love Comics and Games in Lucca, a passionate love letter to the biggest comic convention in Europe. For five days, the medieval Italian city in the heart of Tuscany is transformed into a cosplay mecca: book signings, artist events, shows, exhibitions and concerts, bringing more than 300,000 visitors to the streets and squares.
Using the Mandala metaphor, Castagna's film gradually builds the picture piece by piece, following the stories of organizers, artists and writers, game designers and directors, and fans and their interactions.
“This is a film about communities,” says Castagna. “This is a place where bridges are more important than walls. It's important to show that gratitude, for example, is a kind of glue between normal people, normal people in quotes, normal people and the community and the artist, the guest.”
There are shots of fans meeting their favorite artists and writers, and what's exciting is that outside of their fandom, the stars of the comics or gaming scene may not be household names, and so here they feel the appreciation that fans feel. After finding interesting stories among fans on social media, Castagna filmed the entire festival with two cameras. An editing bay was set up on site, and the festival gave the director access to VIPs and guests such as best-selling authors R.L. Stine and Licia Troisi, rapper Frankie Hi-NRG MC and comic book artists Pera Toons, Sio, Yoshitaka Amano and Roberto Recchio. “We had a lot of rain the first day and it was difficult, but then the sun came out in the following days.”
One of the most touching stories in the film is a portrait of a father and son who share a love for computer culture. “I've been going to schools for the last 25 years because I was the vice director of the Giffoni Children's Film Festival. This is how I interact with young people and have seen with my own eyes how this culture has changed over the years. In the beginning, when I started reading comics, the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game was only intended for a small circle of people. In schools, this art form was not perceived in a very good way. For example, two or three children reading manga will get bullied. Now it's the other way around, when I walk into classrooms, all the kids know about it: manga, anime and D&D. Lucca Comics & Games is a window into these changes, but at the same time it is the engine of this transformation.”
Some of the people included in Castagna's documentary had their lives changed by the Lucca experience. They meet their life partners; they go out; they find friendship and community. “Actually, the first title that came to my mind while filming was 'The Happiness Effect' because Lucca has such an effect on people. Lucca can affect you as a place full of magic and incredible, special people. For example, people queue for hours and they are always happy. There are a lot of people and we never see quarrels or conflicts. It is a wonderful example of what a society can be.”
Returning to the film's Mandala metaphor, Castagna explains: “Lucca's comics and games thrive on the collective contribution of thousands of people: organizers, exhibitors, artists and the public. It is a collective ritual that in its composition reflects the patient construction of the festival itself. But like the Mandala, the festival is also destined to dissolve. At the end, each element is dismantled, the square return to emptiness and the streets resume their rhythm. There is nothing left but memories and anticipation for the next edition when the design begins to take shape again.”
The Lucca Comics & Games exhibition will run from October 29 to November 2. I Wonder Pictures releases I Love Lucca Comics & Games in Italy on November 10th.
