Il Murales Del Campione / The Champion's Mural

Before stepping into a scene, there is a wait, and with it comes the fear of falling short. Il Murales Del Campione / The Champion’s Mural, directed by Massimiliano Pacifico, begins with auditions for a film production in Naples. The project concerns murals dedicated to Diego Armando Maradona; for the young people who turn up, landing a role means trying to imagine a different future.

Set in 2025, the story follows that wish through two spaces: the room where the young people practise acting and the streets of the city. In the hall, they rehearse, stand in front of others and explore the transition from everyday life to a character. The presence of the set makes cinema part of the story: an audition becomes a concrete situation in which to find words, face embarrassment and make oneself heard.

Outside, steps and alleyways lead a boy towards images of football and the champion’s mural. Maradona enters his imagination as someone to whom he can turn with questions. The short opens a space for fantasy within a recognisable city, bringing the wish to act alongside a passion for the ball.

Football also accompanies this journey through the act of falling and getting back up. The chance to try again belongs to a match, but also to the moment when someone stands before a camera. The film connects these two attempts, leaving the boy to search for his own way of being in a scene.

Group rehearsals, close-ups of the young people and views of Naples form a story that moves between the group and the protagonist’s personal space. The audition room and the mural are places where a wish takes shape through encounters, words and images connected with the city.

Produced by Lina Borrelli for Be Line Productions, the short runs for 11 minutes and 50 seconds. Christian Cervone is among the performers, alongside Giovanni Amura and Antonio Guerra. The screenplay is credited to Massimo Scognamiglio, cinematography to Raffaele Massa and editing to Michele Fuccio.

The work is a candidate for the International Sport Film Festival 2026. Its premise invites viewers to consider the relationship between sport and cinema through a challenge familiar to many young people: finding the courage to turn up and make room for their own voice.