Silvia Califano's Critique on RAI1's Docufilm 'Califano'

Nearly a week after its broadcast, the docufilm 'Califano' by Rai1, interpreted by Leo Gassman, continues to be talked about. 'I regret that a complex man like my father was portrayed in a condensed, rushed and superficial version and that no space was given to other key people in his life'. Today, Silvia Califano, the only daughter of Califfo, also intervenes with Adnkronos to clarify some things, also responding to the 'proliferation of articles and my alleged interviews' in light of which 'I feel the duty to provide some clarification', she says. 'Califano, who is the only daughter Silvia: 'He abandoned me when I was 5 months old. He didn't know how to be a father. He had girls younger than me' Silvia Califano and the film about her father 'I want to clarify that everything that has been written in these days has as a source one of the two interviews given by me, that for the magazine Vanity Fair of 2013. My words (I underline, pronounced more than ten years ago), have often been reported in a non-faithful way, often colored or weighed down by additions that were not originally present - she specifies - In this regard, I have no intention of providing further details of my personal life and relationship with my father. Everything I thought was right to say about it is in that interview'. On the TV film she specifies: 'Regarding its content, I want to clarify some points, in particular regarding the facts told in the first part, in order to protect first and foremost the image of my mother and also that of my father. First of all, I want to congratulate Leo Gassman for the attention and respect he had in interpreting the role of my father, knowing how to grasp the characteristic traits of the man and the artist. Going into the merits of the work, first of all some dates - she adds - - My dad and my mom met in 1955, got engaged in 1956, married in October 1958 and I was born in September 1959, so doing a quick calculation it is clear that my mom was not pregnant on the wedding day, as instead represented in the film. In the wedding scene there are also characters who at the time were only children, who could not therefore already be friends of my father - continues Silvia Califano -. The scene of my father and my mother secluded in the public bathroom of a club does not reflect the reality of what happened and gives a non-truthful image of my parents. I add that in the film there is an allusion to an alleged betrayal of my mother, I refer to the scene of the interrupted phone call. I do not understand - she observes - the usefulness of casting this shadow on her figure, nor the need to fabricate justifications for the end of my parents' marriage, which can make my father look better'. 'I understand that to make a biopic it is necessary to insert fictional elements, but it was still decided to include the real character of my mother, Rita Di Tommaso, but emptied of any of her real characteristics', she concludes