Mad and Naples, 10 years of ‘The Art of Happiness’ – Cinema
Ten years ago, on November 21, the animated film “The Art of Happiness” by Alessandro Raco was released, shot in Naples by Mad Entertainment, which debuted with this title and has since been a point of reference for animation in Italy, also open to film production feature and documentary films. It is the factory of Luciano Stella, Maria Carolina Terzi, Carlo and Lorenza Stella located in the historic apartments where Vittorio De Sica filmed “L’oro di Napoli” and “Matrimonio all’italiana”. On November 25, Naples will celebrate the ‘birthday’ of the film that later won several awards (starting with the EFA) and became cult, with a party at the Bolivar Theater.
“The Art of Happiness is one of the first animated films for adults that were entirely made in Italy, or rather in Naples – declares Luciano Stella, also a co-writer – Alessandro Rak is now an animated author recognized at the European level. But when we started this adventure, no one he could never have imagined that he was at the beginning of a journey that would make Mad the most important manufacturing center in Naples and the south, creating an economic spin-off that is unusual.” Mad has since trained a new generation of animation professionals, the first to use Blender software, proving themselves as pioneers, and making a virtue of necessity, in the absence of resources.
Today it is a joint-stock company that has a factory of 40/50 animators. “In these 10 years with Rak, we made two more films, “Cinderella the Cat” and “Yaya and Lennie – The Walking Liberty”, the 26-episode animated series “Food Wizards”, as well as three theatrical films, including “Nostalgia” by Mario Martone and the upcoming “Caracas” by Marco D’Amore and various documentaries, which often use animation inserts,” said Carolina Terzi, recently elected president of Cartoon Italia.
Today, Mad is busy in the field of animation with the creation of “I’m Still Alive” by Roberto Saviano, the first feature film directed by the writer, based on the graphic novel of the same name, which will be presented at the competition in Turin. Film festival animated short film “Due batteti” by Marino Guarnieri.
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