From Italy to the beating heart of musical America. This is the journey—human even before cinematic—undertaken by Gianni Petrizzo, a director and producer from Cilento, and Mauro Cianciulli, co-producer and fellow adventurer. Two professionals originally from Agropoli who decided to cross the United States in pursuit of a dream: to tell, through a film, the true essence of the blues, the music that more than any other has shaped American cultural history and influenced generations of artists around the world.
The project was born in Italy, among ideas, encounters, and the desire to create a story that would not be mere historical documentation, but a lived experience. That is precisely why Petrizzo and Cianciulli chose to take to the road, traveling through the lands where the blues was born, grew, and transformed: Mississippi, with its deep roots, and Texas, now a vibrant laboratory of contemporary sounds.
A Journey into the Heart of the Blues
Production has taken them along the dusty roads of the Delta region, into historic venues where stories of hardship, emancipation, and freedom still echo. Here they are meeting legendary musicians, modern interpreters, and emerging talents—figures who continue to preserve and renew the legacy of the great masters of the past.
Through interviews, performances, and spontaneous encounters, Petrizzo and Cianciulli gather testimonies that not only enrich the film but also profoundly shape their personal experience. In the film, the two friends discover that the blues is not merely a musical genre, but a way of feeling life, a lens through which to interpret emotions, pain, and rebirth.
Between Italy and America: A Film That Unites Worlds
The film—which takes shape as an emotionally powerful documentary—begins in Italy, the protagonists’ homeland, and continues in the United States along a geographic and symbolic path. From Mississippi, the cradle of the most authentic blues, to Tennessee in the city of Memphis, then to Louisiana and New Orleans, the journey moves on to Texas, where tradition meets innovation and where the film will find its natural conclusion.
The result is a work that brings two worlds together.
The Transformative Power of Music
One of the strongest elements of the story is the inner transformation experienced by the protagonists along the way. Meeting world-famous artists, witnessing impromptu jam sessions, and listening to stories that carry the scent of truth and freedom—all of this leads Gianni and Mauro to rediscover themselves, their values, and the deep meaning of friendship.
Paradoxically, while they seek to tell the story of how the blues has changed over the decades, it is they themselves who change. The film thus becomes not only a journey through music, but also through life, friendship, and creativity.
A Story to Follow
The project, currently in full production, is proving to be one of the most compelling initiatives on the independent Italian-American scene. With an authentic and respectful взгляд at a musical tradition that continues to influence the world, Petrizzo and Cianciulli sign a work that promises to move and inspire reflection.
A film that does not merely tell the story of the blues—it lives it.