Religion seeks to answer questions, while paganism seeks to live the question

(Carl Gustav Jung)

In Crotone, both young people and adults dedicate weeks to the construction of the "neighborhood pyres," a competition focused on creating the most imposing bonfire. The wood, secretly gathered before the fateful date of December 13, the day the city is lit by flames, is not just a material: it is a symbol of resistance and collective renewal. What manifests, therefore, is not merely a religious tradition consumed through a pagan ritual, but a narrative of bonds, hope, and the struggle against oblivion. Originally, in fact, the fire of Santa Lucia, before being a celebration, represented a shared moment of socialization, an opportunity for the community to come together in anticipation of Christmas. Today, this event sees the fading of its original spirit, obscured by generational discontinuity and cultural indifference, which risks causing younger generations to lose their connection to the past.

In every neighborhood, the tradition is renewed through its own pyre, a fire that is not just a physical phenomenon but a powerful symbol of light and purification. Christianity, which has associated fire with meanings of redemption and hope for centuries, has made Santa Lucia a paradigmatic figure of those who, despite suffering and darkness, manage to keep the perception of inner light alive. The celebration, therefore, is not only a commemoration of Christmas but also an act of resistance and hope for those who struggle daily against their own darkness, whether it be material, spiritual, ethical, or legal.

Fondo Gesù, the neighborhood in Crotone at the heart of this ritual, is often seen as a symbol of social marginalization. Rooted in the working-class history of the city, this neighborhood lives in a state of perpetual neglect, marked by a conflicted relationship with the rest of society. But it is precisely in the heart of this area that the tradition remains a vehicle of solidarity and identity. There, where social distance is most evident, the fire ritual manages to mend the human fabric and offer a moment of shared experience.

Lux Santa, the documentary by Matteo Russo, fits into this scenario to tell, through an anthropological lens, the story of a group of young people living in this context. Despite the deep economic and social challenges that profoundly mark daily life, these young people find in the bonfire ritual not only a way to express their community spirit but also an opportunity to momentarily escape the emotional and psychological burdens imposed by their circumstances. The preparation of the bonfire becomes an act of liberation for them, a way to renew the honor of the neighborhood and, through the light of the fire, challenge the difficulties of their condition.

The interaction between the protagonists is at the heart of every sequence: the camera, with discretion, enters their daily lives, investigating not only the material preparation of the fire but also the emotional exchanges, confidences, and fears that animate their lives. Every meeting, every act of collaboration in building the pyre, is imbued with deep meaning. The fire being prepared is not just a symbol of prestige but of a search for salvation, a desire to create something that lifts them from their frustrations. The tradition of Santa Lucia, blinded by the violence of persecution, becomes the foundation of a narrative that seeks to go beyond the material to explore the more intimate and universal dynamics of the human condition.

The film constantly blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction, immersing the viewer in an experience that alternates between the concreteness of testimony and the symbolic reconstruction of the ritual. Russo, together with co-screenwriter Carlo Gallo, lived closely with the young people: the participation of the young people in the film is not merely an act of documentation but a form of redemption and self-esteem, which led them to tell their stories, share their experiences, and, in many cases, directly contribute to the creation of the film's soundtrack, composed by Ginevra Nervi, in a fusion of tradition and contemporary sound.

Lux Santa is not just a documentary but a work that recovers and reinterprets in a neorealist key the concept of "communitas" through a ritual that, despite its religious and traditional dimension, becomes an act of protest. The fire, symbol of strength and purification, becomes the means through which the neighborhood becomes visible, and through which its inhabitants, even in the absence of institutional support, manage to keep alive a culture that finds, in the sacredness of tradition, the only space of resistance to social and cultural decay. The fire remains the last resource to reignite memory, hope, and perhaps a chance for redemption, despite the legacies of the fathers.

The profane now ignites the place of the sacred: the sacrificial and propitiatory ritual, already present in the culture of Magna Graecia that permeates the territory, now represents, however, the necessity to display the strength and power that the celebration implies: the greatness and superiority of the fire aim to represent the superiority of the neighborhood that built and illuminated it. But...

The profane can be sacred if we look at it with the right eyes.

(Friedrich Nietzsche)

16-Jan-2025 by Beatrice