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‘Bobò’ by Pippo Delbono and ‘SHE’ by Parsifal Reparato are the two Luce Cinecittà titles premiering at Locarno 78

BOBÒ

Bobò is the new documentary by Pippo Delbono, screening out of competition at Locarno78. The film tells the true story of Bobò, a deaf and mute man with microcephaly who never learned to read or write and spent 46 years in a psychiatric hospital in Aversa. His life changes unexpectedly when director Pippo Delbono visits the facility and is deeply struck by him an thanks to that meeting, Bobò, who had lived in complete invisibility, becomes a key figure in Delbono’s theater and film work. He turns out to be a powerful and poetic performer, able to move and communicate deeply, even without using words. His presence ends up reshaping the director’s creative voice, influencing how he tells stories, sees the world, and, ultimately, makes art.

The documentary draws from over 20 years of archive footage: original recordings, scenes from performances, theatrical moments, and glimpses of everyday life that gently and vividly bring Bobò to life on screen. More than 300 hours of material have been digitized and blended with new scenes filmed in Naples and Aversa, the places where their journey began. The editing and the music are curated by Enzo Avitabile.

Bobò will arrive in Italian cinemas this fall, distributed by Luce Cinecittà. Its release will coincide with World Mental Health Day (October 10), contributing through cinema to a broader, shared reflection on the topic.

The documentary is a production by Fabrique Entertainment, Luce Cinecittà, Inlusion Creative Hub, and Vargo, in collaboration with Rai Cinema. The film was made with the support of the Fund for the Development of Investments in Cinema and Audiovisual Works, from the Italian Ministry of Culture – Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual. It also received funding under Regional Law 30/2016 from the Campania Region and the Campania Film Commission.

SHE

The other Luce Cinecittà title featured in the Semaine de la Critique section at Locarno78 is SHE, by Parsifal Reparato. The director, producer, anthropologist, and journalist tells stories of exploitation and patriarchy inside the world’s largest electronics manufacturing plant, located in Vietnam, co-production country together with Italy and France. The film is produced by AntropicA, PFA Films, Les Films d’Oeil Sauvage, and Luce Cinecittà.

This film lifts the veil on a hidden, yet massive, element of the contemporary era, exploring one of the largest electronics production hub in the world, located in Bac Ninh, Vietnam. A place where 100,000 people live and work, 80 percent of them women, under a system built on relentless exploitation: of time, of individual lives, and of the very identity of the workers. It’s a place where people lose track of their rights, their needs, and even their sense of time.

The film portrays this reality through anonymous faces and bodies, using a striking and powerful cinematic language. It captures a stark and painful human condition crying out for compassion. And while the images might look like they’re set in a science fiction world, what they show is deeply rooted in reality. They belong to a present where the robots we build are already reflected in the people we risk becoming.

“SHE is a film about hidden resistance,” said the director. “It’s about the right to be seen and to exist as people, not just as a workforce. But it’s also a starting point, somehow, because what the workers have created together might just be the beginning of a new story.