From the suburbs to cinematic success. A story of a boy who, starting from the bottom, managed to assert himself in a world “where there is often little meritocracy” and which is difficult to conquer, especially for those who do not have a wealthy family behind them. Alessio De Leonardis, born in 1982, is reaping the fruits of his hard apprenticeship thanks to his latest work, the docufilm “Semplice Cliente”, a film which narrates the “exploits” of the janitor from L’Aquila Mario Magnotta, who went “viral”, when there were no social media yet, in the 90s.
The story of Alessio De Leonardis
Born and raised in Colle Prenestino, Alessio has always lived in the eastern suburbs of Rome. “I started studying cinema after high school – he tells RomaToday – I was lucky enough to meet people who did this job and at 20 I got my first job as an assistant director in cinema, then I became an assistant director at 22” collaborating with the Taviani Brothers and Marco Risi among others.
The directorial debut
His great directorial debut came in 2022 when, together with the singer-songwriter Fabrizio Moro, he wrote and directed the film Ghiaccio. “Fabrizio is a brother” he says again. The film, which is about a promising young boxer, was a great success, more so than the second film also made together with Moro, “Tuesday and Friday”.
Simple customer
The turning point, however, comes in 2025 when Alessio decides to make a docufilm on Mario Magnotta. A janitor in L’Aquila, Magnotta became famous in Italy following some prank calls made by some students at the school where he worked. Thanks to word of mouth and the “traffic” of cassette tapes, instruments that are now prehistoric today, Magnotta’s story went around Italy, as did some phrases that have now become history.
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“I didn’t think it could have such a huge success – says Alessio – we had to do a couple of previews which then became more than 40 because they were always sold out”. This is why, from January 12th, the documentary film will return to theaters in many cinemas. And, in the meantime, there are several streaming platforms interested in purchasing the product.
The trip to L’Aquila
“I grew up with Mario’s cassettes” admits Alessio. “Large projects, nowadays, require much more time and money, especially in this period of crisis in cinema. The docufilm formula is simpler on a production level. I realized that no one had ever told this story and I decided to do it myself.” Alessio was in L’Aquila where he spoke to the guys who had organized the pranks. “Then, I also managed to talk to Mario’s daughter who, in the past, had always refused to talk about this story. In this way I obtained the necessary material for the work.” Stefano Bacchiocchi, of Duende Film, who produced “Simple Client” also believed in this work.
The difficulties
It was not easy to achieve success which, however, seems to be ephemeral. “In this world we live with ups and downs – explains Alessio – cinema is a very sectoral job. Directors especially, in most cases, are people who generally, fortunately for them, come from easier situations. At the beginning, when you want to try to do this job, it’s difficult to make a living”. Even more so for those who come from a family of workers. “To pay for my studies I worked at night, I was a warehouse worker, a salesman, a pizza delivery driver. In short, sacrifices and sacrifices had to be made.” Therefore, the suburbs in themselves are not the biggest obstacle: “the problem is social background and the desire to do things. You put yourself on the line and by making sacrifices comes that healthy anger that leads you to commit yourself. I know many talents who don’t have that desire to sacrifice themselves.”
The next works
Alessio doesn’t want to stop. He already has another work in mind “about a character who has lived in Rome all his life and who has never been talked about” but, obviously, the name is top secret. Meanwhile, “a film is already ready which should see the light in 2026” the director further reveals. In short, despite his success he wants to continue to press his foot on the accelerator: “You can go from riches to rags but, the important thing is to continue working without giving up”.
