Beautiful, Venetian, red-haired. Edy Angelillo. After studying dance, acting and mime she made her debut in the 1970s as ‘girl of the month’ on the television show ‘Domenica in’. She records records, she performs like ballerina until its debut in cinema acting with actors like Sordi and Francesco Nuti in the unforgettable film ‘Madonna what silence there is tonight‘. Versatile actress, she appeared in several TV shows successful and has shown a great sense of the stage by interpreting characters to whom he has always imprinted the characteristics of a unique personality, exuberant and at the same time rich in introspective capacity. Among the many theatrical performances to remember ‘Carmela and Paolino‘ in which Angelillo starred alongside the great Gennaro Cannavacciuolo, an actor of extraordinary elegance and sensitivity who died prematurely recently.
Although she has never placed herself on the barricades, Edy is extremely sensitive to social issues and too many unresolved problems in our country, linked to the issues of inclusion, gender difference but also to bad governance and the shortsightedness of certain politics. Its air from passionflower it suggests one of those South American heroines ready to defend her cause with gunfire. But she is instead sober, measured and rational as the sign of the virgin imposes. She fights, but she does so in silence, becoming a champion of causes that she supports in the ways she deems suitable and speaks when she knows that doing so is useful to be an example with her art and, at home, with her son, educating him to respect and care for those who it is weaker.
What value does social commitment have for you and what meaning does it have in your life?
“It is the result of the principles with which we grow. Although I have not been on the front line, nor have I ever personally waged battles on the front of the demand for social rights, I have always tried in my small way to do what I can in that direction. First of all, I try to teach my son certain values: without this starting point it is difficult to think that the men of the future can have brains to manage their lives and a balanced relationship with others. There is really a lot to do in this direction and if there are still too many denied rights, an excess of violence and unbearable walls made to divide, it is only the consequence of a serious cultural defect, far from being corrected due to evident inadequacy. That’s why I find it essential to work on your children right away, first of all becoming a right model to follow. So I do not hesitate to sign online petitions and to show all possible sensitivity towards the safeguarding of trampled rights and to make sense of all this, I make precise choices to which all my solidarity goes. “
Are these issues that have also seen you involved in your profession as an actress?
“Last year I debuted with a show called ‘That will be‘together with Paolo Triestino in which he tackles, albeit in the light manner of comedy, a rather delicate and difficult subject such as euthanasia. Roberta Skerl’s text is, apparently, light and very funny, people laugh until the story arrives, like a sudden wave, to emotionally involve and move the viewer. Unfortunately, in Italy, the question of euthanasia remains a taboo especially for ethical and religious reasons. I believe that everyone should be the master of their own life in full and total freedom. If at some point I want to end my existence, which has become unbearable due to an incurable pathological condition that causes too much suffering, I must feel free to put an end to it. Of course, everyone has the right to see it as they see fit based on their beliefs. The difficult thing to understand is that referendums are held on fairly marginal issues, leaving out topics of central importance for the whole of society. Identical self-determination should exist on the subject of abortion. I am referring in particular to what is happening in America. A woman who chooses to have an abortion certainly does so for a variety of reasons, often very well thought out. The law cannot repress this sacrosanct right, which has already been acquired and largely sanctioned by previous decisions on the matter. I therefore consider what is happening in the United States hallucinating: an impressive step backwards that catapulted us into the Middle Ages ”.
There is great indignation in his words …
“Indignation and irritation. But also the inability to amaze myself in the face of the obvious and unfortunate spectacle of a policy that is increasingly inadequate to understand, support and interpret the authentic needs of the people. Unfortunately this, perhaps due to globalization, does not happen only in our country by now. But I live in Rome. Do we want to talk about it? In my life I had never witnessed such a degradation. Dirt everywhere, bad smells, piles of garbage waiting to be (perhaps) withdrawn, streets reduced to a sorry state. We live in absolute neglect and nothing changes in substance whatever the mayor and his council are ”.
Rome, the cosmopolitan city par excellence: what are your thoughts on the phenomenon of immigration?
“In my opinion, it is always necessary to distinguish between decent people and those who are not, which has been exactly the same for Italians for generations. In a nutshell, you shouldn’t make a bundle of all the grass. I happen to have contacts with Chinese, Pakistani, Africans who live a few steps from me, some even in my own condominium and I have never had any problems. My concierge, for example, is from Sri Lanka, a delightful person with a wife and three children. Of course I stay away from bad guys, but this is true in any case. On the other hand, I find it incredible that it is still denied ius soli to boys born here, Italians in all respects with a local accent, and instead not recognized as such in terms of the law. “
Another problem, especially for those who have always lived in big cities, are the acts of violence suffered by women …
“Well, of course. It is difficult to forget what draws your attention from a car, you turn around and discover that it is dedicating itself to unrepeatable chores … And if this happens when you are 13 or 14 it becomes a terrible violence capable of marking you: a trauma that remains imprinted for life . While I must recognize that in the workplace I have always been respected and no one has ever dared to make advances beyond the boundaries of the lawful. Perhaps it was my somewhat discouraging attitude that defended me, however bearing in mind that men should be able to stop in time when a woman opposes a stark no. “
What relationship does it have with homosexuality. Have you ever played roles like this?
“I’ve never played parts like that, but I certainly wouldn’t have any problems. I can say that my best friend is gay but I guess if I was born transgender I would have lived it as a challenging existential experience. It must be recognized that these people are exposed to very intense emotional travails, not to mention the need for surgery that is anything but indifferent. If they undergo all this it is a sign that they are experiencing such intolerable discomfort that they accept any sacrifice as the only possible way to achieve their goal. Personally I have not avoided analyzing myself from this point of view, but I deduced that although I love women very much, I never thought of any relationship of a lesbian nature. Should it hypothetically happen, I would welcome it. I say this only in theory, aware that reality is always quite another thing. These are very delicate topics and you have to be in them to understand exactly. The truth is that we must also make a lot of progress in this sense because discrimination against gender too often results in those acts of intimidation and violence that fill the pages of newspapers with horror. Living in a world of freedom is our only, true hope ”.