«Le Ali di Guido» on World Autism Day: the exuberance of a child, the gentle strength of a mother.

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The short film made by the writer Flavio Pagano: the courage and imagination of many families at the time of the coronavirus | Courier TV
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Flavio Pagano, how was this film born?
«From the irresistible exuberance of Guido, the eight-year-old boy who is the protagonist. And from the gentle strength of her mother, Carmelina Bisogno ».

What did you want to tell?
“The courage of many children (and not only) at the time of the coronavirus, forced into the house without understanding why. And the fact that believing in life changes our life ».

What was it like to start?
«I found myself at the gates of an unknown galaxy: autism. I remember the words with which Carmelina confided in me the first time: “When you receive the diagnosis it is terrible. You feel despair, helplessness ”. However, some time later, it was wonderful to hear her radiant: “The love for my son Guido was stronger than the pain. I founded an association: Together beyond autism! ».

What happened?
«In two years in Sant’Antonio Abate, in the Neapolitan area, the solitary outpost of Carmelina has become a precious reference for many families. She says: “Never isolate yourself, you have to transform pain into energy. I try to make my association a place capable of welcoming anyone, as I would have liked to be welcomed in the most difficult moment “. She is a very sweet person but, like all mothers in the trenches, she knows how to fight like a lioness ».

How should a place be capable of welcoming anyone?
«Carmelina says that an autistic person must be able to socialize with able-bodied children, because the barriers must be broken down in both directions. Once more, thanks to her, I realized that we are the disabled, that our claim to bring reality back to a predetermined concept of “normality” is truly obtuse ».

And then the pandemic has complicated everything.
«After a year, Covid forced Carmelina to work in fits and starts … I felt a little down. And then Guido’s gaze came to mind, and I thought I’d propose the short film to her. By organizing ourselves well, we could make it happen without meeting ».

How did you do?
«The music was obtained by superimposing two tracks recorded independently, at a distance. Think that Carmelina carried out the recovery plan while recovering from Covid. And when she got the authorization to go out, living in Agerola, on the Amalfi Coast, we took the opportunity to shoot the finale outdoors, involving all the children of “Insieme”, against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful views in the world, where the famous Path of the Gods is born ».

A magical place …
“Absolutely. There the meaning of our short film, that is to grasp the extraordinary moment in which our fragility is transformed into courage, has literally come to life ».

Flavio Pagano, passionate about the theme of disability …
“I started taking care of it thirteen years ago, working as a curacari for my mother with Alzheimer’s.”

Curacari, splendid translation of English caregiver.
“Try to emphasize that when you take care of someone, for whatever reason and whoever they are, that person becomes a loved one.”

And we learn to live with it …
“Which is the most important thing. A tour that I took with my mother in the center of Naples, pushing her in a wheelchair, turned out to be a real safari, between architectural barriers (and not only) of all kinds made me open my eyes. We don’t understand disability until we experience it. Then I was lucky enough to meet Franco Ricciardi and Tonino Vella who, in a beautiful Irpinia town of seven hundred souls, Monteverde, managed to give life to a revolutionary project for the total inclusion of people with disabilities, which received the commendation of the President of the Republic, the conferral of the Access city award in Brussels by the European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, and the Padre Pio Award from the disability guarantor of the Campania Region. An experience that taught me how disability is even a resource, capable even of fueling tourism ”.

Tourism? Tell us better …
“Accessible tourism” collects considerable demand, and is also a development model against the depopulation of small towns. In fact, a small tourist village has arisen in Monteverde that can be enjoyed by everyone, able-bodied and not, and the whole town is equipped with interactive paths that allow blind and deaf people to move on their own … ».

What’s boiling in your pot now?
«I am working on a popular essay on“ analogical medicine ”for Maggioli, and on a novel that will be published at the beginning of next year, published by Giunti:“ L’Uovo Nero ”. But I am also preparing a third short film, for the new edition of the Alzheimer Fest, and I am particularly flattered by this opportunity ».

Today is World Autism Day. Are these events important?
“It would be easy to say that these issues should always be dealt with. It is true: but it is also true that it does not happen. Having a dedicated world day turns the spotlight on. And it’s not cheap ».

“Le Ali di Guido” has two unique and extraordinary protagonists. But looking at their home videos, it’s a bit like seeing all the mothers and children in the world against the light …
“Yup! Because Guido’s naturalness is extraordinary. He is a born actor. A showman ».

And the dads?
«” Le ali di Guido “is a tribute to the truths of silence, and to the wonderful mystery that unites every child to his mother. But even fathers know how to be lions. A family that faces disability fights one of the most difficult challenges that exist, in which being united is a great resource “.

Behind the scenes of this film who can we thank?
“Many gave us a hand: the pianist Alessandra Cesarini, the singer Maria Grazia Cicala (who attended from Lugano!), Emanuela Matassa and Luca Tuccillo who carried out the editing and post-production, the sound engineer Ferdinando Di Palo, Tancredi Maria Pagano and Giorgia Callegaro who helped a little in everything ».

What are Guido and Carmelina doing right now?
“What they do in every moment of their life: they will be doing their best, as only those who have the courage to really believe in their dreams to the end can do”.

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