The new trailer for "Zero", the Netflix series about superheroes on the outskirts of Milan
The show created by Antonio Dikele Distefano will use cine-comic to talk about the Italian black community
March 2nd, 2021
Invisibility is one of the main problems encountered by the communities of second-generation Italians. A condition that can be used to provide insights for an original storytelling – like that of the writer Antonio Diekele Distefano who, debuting as screenwriter and creator for Netflix Italia, signed the new tv show Zero, coming on April 21st. In Zero, invisibility is a concept explored inside and outside the metaphor: inside because the whole story tells the invisibility of the Afro-Italian community of the imaginary Barrio district of Milan; out of it because this same invisibility becomes a literal superpower for the protagonist, Omar (played by Giuseppe Dave Seke), to save his own neighborhood. Combining superhero pop narration (with the help of Jeeg Robot's co-author, Menotti, aka Roberto Marchionni) to the veristic one about the communities of second generation Italians, Antonio Diekele Distefano wanted to tell a story for our times: realistic and fantastic at the same time, which uses the key of cine-comic to tell of another type of heroism, more daily but also invisible – that of being a second generation Italian in an Italy that , often, is not welcoming. Antonio Dikele Distefano says:
The idea of Zero comes from my need to put together different stories to tell one. The story of a special boy, of a black boy, who thanks to his super power manages to see the reality behind the appearance of things, people and relationships. For me, for a black Italian boy like Zero, who owes everything to Italy, the most beautiful thing is that this will be the first series in which the protagonists are black Italian boys.
Just as the creator of the show said, this series is the first that was born and developed around the Afro-Italian community – a new confirmation of the nascent strength of this community as also demonstrated by the stories told in the Digital Cover N.06 of nss magazine , dedicated to the stories and successes of contemporary authors of Italian Black History. Unlike series such as Gomorrah and Suburra, the suburbs told in Zero will not be a stereotypical stage of criminal dramas and violence, but will finally be depicted as the place where the second generations of Italians grew up and forged those bonds that, today, make their community so strong. To add richness to the final product, there will also be the musical element, that is rap, with an official soundtrack signed, among others, also by Marracash who for the series composed an original song that can already be heard in the trailer.