A 'cappelletti western' at zero km

The director Franco Ceredi made the film 'Call me Joe' shot entirely in Rome

Il Restro del Carlino

By Raffaella Candoli

May 2, 2025

[A sequence from the trailer for 'Call Me Joe']

 The long wave of the Covid lockdown continues to be felt, and not always in a negative way. It represented for some, in fact, an unexpected opportunity for creativity that, perhaps, under normal conditions would not have been possible. This is the case of the film "Call me Joe" by the Cesena director Franco Ceredi, which on Monday May 5 at 9 pm, will be screened, in its premiere, at the Eliseo cinema. The starting point offered to Ceredi was the video-chat established with a group of friends who, given the impossibility of meeting physically, helped to set up a funny comedy to be made at no cost, or almost, involving some professional actors, but above all acting enthusiasts residing in our area.

"The film, shot entirely in Rome - explains the director -, is about a cowboy from the Old West who is projected in the present day, right here in our area. At first disoriented, but with a surprising Romagna accent, he will live a nice adventure meeting somewhat special friends. There will also be 'bad guys', who have come to try to steal an object that will turn out to be very important". Filming of the "cappelletti western" in the Italian-style of "spaghetti western" in its Romagna connotation was carried out during 2024.

"I got out of it," adds Ceredi, "a 106-minute film involving about 50 people, with the difficulties that the whole operation entailed, which now cannot remain in the drawer." "The only way," Ceredi continues, "is to make 'one-to-one' agreements with the various cinemas in Rome to be able to balance the expenses related to the rental of screening rooms. The spirit that animated the project is, in fact, the one for which everyone has put in the effort, but no one (including the production) has economic returns, only the pride of having completed it. Succeeding every time, however, is an equally immense satisfaction that brings out again the desire to start something new from scratch."

Yes, because Franco Ceredi, a banker and professional videomaker, is not new to the creation of other "zero budget" films, such as "Il Dono" in 2015, and in 2017 the second feature film, entitled "Vedremo..." which also involved actors such as Veronica Urban and Alessandro Pieri and where the evocative scenario is still the local one.

 

Chiamatemi Joe

 

Chiamatemi Joe – Italian title

[Call Me Joe – English translated title]

 

A 2024 Italian film production [BluArrow Film (Rome)]

Producer:

Director: Franco Ceredi

Story:

Screenplay:

Cinematography:  [color, Cinemascope]

Music:

Running time: 106 minutes

Cast:

Samuele Bartolini, Claudio Mele, Amir Segal, Francesco Parisi, Antonio Ragone, Barbara Tassinari, Gian Luca Conti, Milano Marittima, Castiglione di Ravenna

 Story: A cowboy from the Old West who is projected in the present day, right here in our area. At first disoriented, but with a surprising Romagna accent, he will live a nice adventure meeting somewhat special friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-laqyLmT9I