The right to citizenship at birth, ‘ius soli’, is still unapproved in Italy, denying over a million children, born of immigrant parents, automatic citizenship.

The film captures the story of an Italian basketball team, who were refused access to regional leagues because of the Italian born players’ immigration status.

Former Italian basketball champion, Massimo Antonelli, started the team at a disused holiday complex in Castel Volturno, an area that is made up of 25,000 inhabitants, a fifth of which are registered migrants. Being free to join, it offered local teenagers a chance to participate in after-school sports and was sustained by generous donations.

The FPI (Italian Basketball Federation) rules stated that to compete, only 2 players per team could be migrants, which posed a problem for Antonelli and his team of hardworking and committed players. Given his media status, he soon found himself at the centre of a debate about Italian citizenship and integration, and the question ‘what does it mean to be Italian?’ was brought to the fore.

Credits:

Director - Greg Hackett
Executive Producers - Stitch Richardson, Lois Newcombe
Producer - Luigi Rossi
Production Manager - Dickon Ireland
Production Company – Spindle
Director of Photography - Todd Martin
Fixer - Giulio Piscitelli
1st Assistant Camera - Jonathan England
Gaffer/Grip - Bjorn-Ante Roe
Sound Recordist - Emiliano Locatelli
Camera Hire - Panalight
Lighting & Grip Hire - Panalight
Film Processing - Augustus Colour
Editor - Tim Swaby
Color Producer - Chris Anthony, Framestore
Colour Grade - Simon Osbourne, Framestore
Sound Design - Joe Wilkinson, Strings and Tins
Composer - Luke Atencio
VFX and Finishing - Creative Outpost