Catania, 26 March 2025 — The TV series to be shot in Catania in the coming months will be based on the novel “ Attenti al gorilla” by Sandrone Dazieri (Mondadori, 1999), with a screenplay written by the author himself. The production is by the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania, with post-production by the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, as part of the C-Fabit project funded by the PNRR (through the MUR — Ministry of University and Research).
The Academy of Catania (Abact) — chaired by Lina Scalisi and directed by Gianni Latino — has acquired the film rights to Dazieri’ s book. His literary debut with “ Attenti al gorilla” — a publishing phenomenon translated into four languages and followed by five further stories — established him as one of the most acclaimed Italian writers and screenwriters of the contemporary scene. His latest thriller “ Uccidi i ricchi” (Rizzoli) has just been published.
Sandrone Dazieri is currently in Catania for a series of location scouts across symbolic contexts and neighbourhoods of the city and its culture: the historic centre and its monuments, noble palaces, the Port, the metro, the San Berillo district, the Pescheria and other “ secret” locations, in search of the genius loci, the soul of the city and its people. The new TV series will indeed be set in Catania, departing from the nocturnal metropolitan atmosphere of 1990s Milan that defined “ Attenti al gorilla” . Sandrone and his “ Socio” — the complex protagonist of the series — are reborn in the context of a Mediterranean Catania that is truly “ noir” : frenetic, sleepless and always active, like its volcano, Etna.
“ I always thought of the Gorilla,” commented Dazieri, “ as a universal character who could live in other cities. He was born in Milan because I was there in the Nineties. Now that I’ m getting to know Catania — and the night-time city is beautiful — I imagine transforming the Gorilla into a Catania detective, living in the present of Catania, in its underground, in the world of young and not-so-young people. It means rejuvenating the character, giving him meaning in the present. And this idea engaged me immediately.”
During the current location scouts, Sandrone Dazieri is accompanied by Gianpiero Vincenzo, lecturer in Sociological Disciplines at Abact and scientific director and author of the entire C-FABIT project (the Naples lead is Luigi Barletta, lecturer in Audiovisual Languages and Techniques at Abana). Following the TV series, a graphic novel and a video game are also planned, developed by the two academies.
Born in Cremona in 1964 and a former activist at Milan’ s Centro Sociale Leoncavallo, Dazieri is an expert in countercultures and genre fiction. Following “ Attenti al Gorilla” , Mondadori invited him to lead the prestigious Gialli Mondadori series, and as a screenwriter he has worked on successful productions including “ Squadra Antimafia” (partly shot in Catania), “ Intelligence” and “ R.I.S. Roma” . His recent revenge film “ Io sono vendetta” starred Alessandro Gassman.
THE C-FABIT PROJECT
C-Fabit stands for Cinematic Futures: Bridging Art, Technology and Interdisciplinary Training. Drafted by the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania (lead institution) and conceived in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples — the two largest state academies in southern Italy and among the first to establish new cinema courses from 2020– 21 — the C-Fabit project can count on funding of over 5.2 million euros (5,248,478.40 euros).
The project’ s objective is to make Catania, together with Naples, a reference point in the field of cinema — particularly in education and training — allowing students from both academies to combine theory and practice and develop hands-on skills across the professional roles connected to the world of film. The Catania Academy’ s studios will also serve as a logistical and strategic support for audiovisual production companies and Film Commissions that increasingly choose Sicily as a preferred location for films, TV series, historical and scientific documentaries, and commercials.
Project C-FABIT/PNRR | Press Release no. 2_2025
