"I do not want to command and I do not want to be commanded": is one of the mottos that represents the essence of Franco Battiato, his constant inner research and the desire to affirm his innovative concept of music under the banner of contamination.
One year after his death, Rai Documentari dedicates a prime time to him with "The courage to be Franco" broadcast on May 18 on Rai 1. Written and directed by Angelo Bozzolini and produced by Aut Aut Production in collaboration with Rai Documentari, the film traces the life and career of one of the most revolutionary authors of Italian music.
With the narrating voice of Alessandro Preziosi, the documentary also tries to return an intimate portrait of the artist, thanks to the story of his niece Cristina Battiato and to the unpublished material from the family's photographic archives.
of Rai, of the Cineteca di Bologna, of Universal Music, as well as to the exclusive filming in the homes of Milan and Milo in Sicily, as well as in the places of the spirituality so deeply dear to Battiato.
Among the unpublished documents, the autographed texts of 1966 and the exclusive photos of his first duo with Gregorio Alicata, "Gli ambulanti", together with a song never heard before.
Impossible to categorize or insert into any genre, precisely because of the ease with which he was able to range from rock to pop, from electronic to opera, Battiato has managed to unhinge the rules of the game in so many areas, from music, cinema and television, but also mystical and spiritual.
Even today we speak of the "genius of Battiato", as the one who redesigned the concept of pop music in Italy.
Never before him had it been possible to climb the charts by telling stories according to a new grammar, inspired by content outside the mainstream and the continuous search for a sacred dimension of art.
From the beginning of his career to the encounter with electronic music by Karlheinz Stockhausen, from the first album "Fetus" (1972), to "La Voce del Padrone" (1981), the best-selling album in Italy, as well as timeless hits such as "The era of the white boar", "La Cura", "Permanent center of gravity", "Cuccurucucù".
His music is also a journey through our country: from post-war Sicily to Milan in the 1960s and the economic boom, up to the encounter with oriental philosophies and Buddhism.
The documentary is enriched by the testimonies of artists and personalities who have contributed most to Battiato's success: among others, Alice, Luca Madonia, Sonia Bergamasco, Willem Dafoe, Antonio Scurati, Giovanni Caccamo, Vittorio Sgarbi, Marco Travaglio.
And Morgan, who premieres "Battiato breaks my heart", the piece composed on the occasion of the artist's illness.
"We are happy to be able to take up the challenge of proposing a documentary for the first evening of Rai 1, thanks to this project so successful and so comprehensive and thorough in the outline of the human and artistic path of the late Franco Battiato", underlines Fabrizio Zappi, director of Rai Documentaries.
Sky Arte also pays tribute to the artist with Franco Battiato - Il tributo, a documentary in four episodes,
curated by Stefano Senardi and Edoardo Rossi, directed by Pepsy Romanoff, on air from 18 May in prime time.
The work gives voice to the protagonists of Invito al Viaggio, the tribute concert held at the Arena di Verona on 21 September 2021, forty years after the publication of the album La voce del padrone.
These same artists tell of the Catania singer-songwriter, from both an artistic and human point of view: the link with Sicily, the relationship with spirituality, the cultured and surprising poetics, the musical intuitions of the experimental period, up to the relationship with success and many curious anecdotes.
The story is punctuated by the voice of his friend Francesco Messina, who reads some short passages from his book The dawn inside the dusk, and from that of Battiato himself,