"When they proposed that I turn my family's story into a series, I was skeptical. Instead it is very intense with a director who was a conductor. It is very relevant to reality, devoid of morbidity and clichés. In the actors I saw my family again, especially my father, who unfortunately was crushed by the pain for the death of his only daughter, but also my mother who gave me the strength to go on all these years. With this series pass important issues very dear to me, such as violence against women and missing persons, let's not forget that for a long time the case of my sister was considered a voluntary removal but we knew who had met her last where". "This story was immediately very mediatic and less bad, because otherwise it would have ended up in oblivion". To speak so, during the presentation in Viale Mazzini in the Zavoli room, is Gildo Claps: the occasion is the arrival on Rai1 of the series Per Elisa - Il caso Claps, in three first evenings from October 24, dedicated to the terrible story of the 16-year-old killed in 1993 in Potenza by Danilo Restivo (and whose body was found, now mummified, after 17 years, by three workers in the attic of the church of Potenza). Gianmarco Saurino lends him face and movements: "Having Gildo Claps by my side is moving. To be able to play him is an incredible privilege. For me, it's the most complicated role of my career. History tells the absolute evil, but it leaves us with hope because there are decent, sensitive and strong people like this family, the Claps, and then we look and learn from them". Gildo adds: "The story is painful, over the years it has made us meet extraordinary people, like Federica Sciarelli". The host of Who saw it? is present in the stalls. The fiction is a co-production between the Italian company Fast Film and the English Cosmopolitan Pictures, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and with the patronage of the Municipality and the Province of Potenza. Directed by Marco Pontecorvo, it will be distributed worldwide by ITV Studios. For Elisa he reconstructs one of the most shocking recent crime stories: the murders of Elisa Claps and Heather Barnett by Danilo Restivo. But it took years to connect them together and convict the culprit. A fundamental role for this to happen was played by Gildo Claps, Elisa's older brother, who was 24 years old at the time of his sister's disappearance. "For Elisa - explains Pontecorvo - it is also and above all the story of Gildo and his family, of their uninterrupted battle to bring the murderer to justice and shed light on Elisa's disappearance and on why the truth could remain obscure for so long, on the many contradictions of this story. The responsibility of bringing a real story to the screen is heightened by getting to know the family." The series is based on the book Blood on the Altar by British journalist Tobias Jones. Pontecorvo has found the right light in the debutant Ludovica Ciaschetti the protagonist, Gianmarco Saurino plays Gildo Claps, Anna Ferruzzo the mother Filomena, Vincenzo Ferrera is Antonio, Elisa's father. Francesco Acquaroli plays the role of Maurizio Restivo, the father of the murderer, Giulio Della Monica is Danilo. Rosa Diletta Rossi is Gildo's wife. Anna Ferruzzo (Filomena Claps, the mother): "She wanted to get to know me and asked me to Acting with her heart, because she lost hers with the death of her daughter," says the actress. As for the hypothesis of increasing the penalties for feminicides, Gildo says: "I think that the problem is not related to the increase in penalties, but to the certainty that these are applied. We need to work on prevention, not on chemical castration or other extreme measures." On the reopening of the church in Potenza where Elisa's remains were found, he reiterates: "Mom and I asked for an admission of responsibility and an apology for the lies that took place in that place of worship. I hope that the truth of this story will not be mortified once again. That church is a wound for the whole city." Gildo Claps recalled that "in these 30 years" his family "has never received a penny for everything related to Elisa's dramatic story. They asked me to receive a contribution for the script of this TV series and I said no, but they insisted. If the rights bear fruit, that part can be donated to Doctors Without Borders: Elisa had a dream in the drawer, to go to work in Africa".
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