After 55 years and approaching his 75th birthday, Gubitosi announced in an extensive interview published March 21 in the newspaper Il Mattino his decision to step down as director of Giffoni. In the article by Generoso Picone, he goes through the 55-year story of his idea: “A cycle is about to close and it is impossible not to stop and reflect now. It will not only be a transition period, it will mark a boundary between what once was and what is to come. What is a final assessment? It usually consists of a sum of figures and results related to a specific period. But when it comes to a life’s assessment, everything changes. It is no longer simply a recap, it is an ultimate question, a profound need. My assessment actually starts with a question: what have I built from 1971 to the present day? I’m not talking rhetoric; this is not nostalgia. It is my urge to look at my story and tell it honestly, with all its victories and scars. It is my life and it is also the life of Giffoni. They are inextricably intertwined. Decades of events, ideas, struggles, successes. A path that has been the subject of economic, journalistic, biographical, sociological and cultural anthropology studies”.
He then continues: “I have been analyzed and investigated in an attempt to understand the genesis and the reasons behind my idea of a festival. Many have asked: how is it possible that, back in the 1970s, in a small town of 8,500 people, an eighteen-year-old, without studies, training, specific or professional inclinations, support, or finances, could create such a thing? It seemed impossible. And yet, it happened. It could only be done through absolute dedication, sacrificing every moment of my time and personal life. I insisted, drew attention to my project, found solutions to convince everyone that something big was happening and that it was necessary to believe in my plans and vision. I dedicated my life to Giffoni. I won’t mention the sacrifices, perhaps because I am used to not thinking about them, as I’m sure I made the right choice. I know I consecrated my existence to something urgent, something that could help the community, something beneficial for everyone. And above all, something that could bring happiness in the lives of millions of children, young people, and families. All the work undertaken has always been necessary, as the great author François Truffaut declared at Giffoni back in 1982. Today, Giffoni is known all over the world, and its activities are asked for everywhere. Yet, even today, I still feel impressed and amazed. But I have stopped asking myself how I managed to do that. Decades have passed. Sometimes they seem to have flown by, other times, in my memories, they become endless, full of events, names, and faces, like pages of a history book that I collected in three monumental volumes in 2020 on the occasion of the Festival’s 50th anniversary. Each year brought new opportunities, obstacles to overcome, horizons to explore. My work has been made up of triumphs, but also of fears. In the end, without realizing it immediately, I invented a profession, an identity. And I dedicated all of myself to it. This is the result I share today.”
“Since 1971, Giffoni’s activities have generated an economic impact of over 850 million euros. This figure is certified by economic and financial analyses, which allows me to state with utmost certainty that Giffoni is one of the largest creative projects ever realized. Through its numerous activities, it has initiated a process of economic development with few comparisons. Over the years, public funding for the event and infrastructures has been joined by private investments and sponsorships. More and more ambitious projects have led to significant economic repercussions, creating job opportunities for many young people and involving dozens of companies. In 2023, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers certified all this relevant data through the NUVAP report. In the last two European programming periods of the Development and Cohesion Fund, Giffoni received investments of over 160 million euros, and stood out as a virtuous model among all the southern Italian regions. In 2024, the prestigious company Deloitte estimated the value of our brand at around 71 million euros. What can I say? What emotions do I feel? It is hard for me to answer. That is why I love to remember that we return to the public funder three times what is allocated to us, both for the Festival and for the infrastructural endowment. I would also like to mention all the work I have done over the years to facilitate, promote and support the creation of the Cittadella del Cinema first and of the Giffoni Multimedia Valley project later, which are all public works within the heritage of the Municipality of Giffoni Valle Piana. It is clear that if I had not embarked on this path, these structures would not exist. Public investment, therefore, was a right, profitable, and valuable choice. Because Giffoni is certainly mine as a work of ingenuity, but it belongs to all those who believe in the transformative power of culture.”
“Over the years, we have welcomed some of the most prestigious figures in culture and cinema: Nobel laureates, Oscar winners, protagonists of national and international social and political life, Hollywood stars, as well as new generations of authors, actors and actresses who have become universal heritage. Just a few names: Nobel laureate President Gorbachev, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Richard Gere, Bryan Cranston, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Aniston, Kit Harington, Jessica Chastain, Sergio Leone, Alberto Sordi, Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci, Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Nobel Laureates Rita Levi Montalcini and Lech Walesa; many Presidents of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Senate, President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. We also had many meetings at the Quirinale with President Cossiga and President Pertini. I’d like to also mention the meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, as well as those with Pope Francis, who has greeted us multiple times from the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square. We broke an unshakable taboo: the idea that certain things can only be done in big cities and places where all the services are available. And certainly not in the South! At the time, it seemed unthinkable. And, unfortunately, even today, it seems impossible for others to replicate elsewhere what we have accomplished here. Giffoni is a small town in the inner areas of Campania, yet from here we have managed to speak to the entire world. Another great victory was achieved by pursuing a clear goal, cultivated over the years with awareness and determination: not to “confine” the Giffoni idea to a niche initiative, chronologically and conceptually limited. We took this risk from the very beginning. Today, Giffoni has earned its place among the great film festivals, capable of attracting the attention of the world. It is in the global top ten, alongside Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. I broke down the static nature and temporality of the festival by creating a comprehensive project with over 500 activities throughout the year. All Italian regions have felt the wind of Giffoni, and without fear, we have held events in more than 35 countries, bringing the experience, modernity, innovation, and the ability to unite many generations. Reaching this milestone is a source of pride for us, the proof that our vision was correct”.
“The true strength and distinctive characteristic has always been that of putting the young generations at the center, entrusting them not only with the meaning of the event, but also the responsibility of culture,” he explains. “We have never conceived knowledge as something to be transmitted from above in a one-way direction. On the contrary, we believed that young people should be active protagonists in the cultural debate, that their voices could and should contribute to redefining the way the world views cinema, art, and society. From the very first edition, we have built connections with millions of girls and boys, listening to them, understanding their needs, their fragilities, their potential. We gave them space to express themselves, creating an environment where culture is not imposed, but shared, lived, questioned, and continuously renewed. Many come into contact with Giffoni as children and continue to return as adults. They grow with the festival because here they find a place where their ideas truly matter. For years, we have been shaping motivated, engaged individuals, open to dialogue. People who are more aware and, perhaps, even happier”.
“We have addressed the issues of marginality, remote areas, and educational poverty. These were not just themes to tackle, but concrete commitments that have had a real impact. Every intervention has generated tangible change, contributing to the well-being of the community and offering opportunities to those who needed them most. We have paid great attention to the most fragile and vulnerable groups, to both the old and new issues affecting young people and their families, whether physical, mental, or psychological. We have been close to children in pediatric hospitals, never forgetting to place their happiness at the center. Over the years, Giffoni has maintained and enhanced its relationship with young people, and in 2020, aware of the shock they would face during and after COVID, we further committed ourselves to support and help those who asked for collaboration. This makes me proud. Because these are the results that really matter. And in this assessment, they are of special importance to me. I have never been afraid of even catastrophic events like the 1980 earthquake and COVID in 2020. In 1980, Giffoni did not stop despite being damaged in its structures, with the Festival’s headquarters uninhabitable. I moved everything to my house and saved our great archive. In 2020, even COVID didn’t stop me, knowing that, in the midst of this tragedy of deaths, fears, and interrupted relationships, I had to give my best for the kids, for the young people, for the giffoners. I entrusted myself to God, and Giffoni 2020 was the first and only event to take place in presence with all the necessary precautions, although some saw my actions as pretextual and arrogant. Even though my fear was immense, not a single case occurred: there were plenty of attacks and criticisms because everything else was canceled, even the Olympics, but not Giffoni”.
“In many different ways, we have gone beyond the very concept of a Festival. Giffoni, a unique case in Italy, did not limit itself to an annual event, but extended its activities throughout the year, transforming into a permanent cultural engine. This allowed for the creation of stable employment, not just occasional work, offering a concrete perspective for those who want to dedicate their lives to professions related to the country’s cultural and artistic growth. I was not afraid when many talents from the United States asked me to bring Giffoni to Hollywood, which was a great success for several years: I only asked to do the best for the kids, such as using the Kodak Theatre, the temple of the Oscars. We were active in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Brazil. I inspired the creation of Festivals for young people in Doha, Qatar, North Macedonia, Albania, Romania, and many more. I would also like to express one more reason for pride, one of the most significant: having made a concrete contribution to the relationship between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture to bring cinema into schools. Already in the 1970s, we recognized the value of the work that schools were doing with Super8 films. Starting from that, many projects were born, including the famous Movie Days, which involved over 750,000 students outside the Giffoni Festival event— a number that still impresses today”.
“The great project of the Cittadella del Cinema, realized with an investment of over 8 billion lire, was just the first step of a continuous growth journey. Following this, the Multimedia Valley, a project worth over 20 million euros, was developed, and today our commitment continues with the creation – for which an additional 8 million euros have been allocated – of the Great Events Arena and the Testimoni del Tempo Museum, (Witnesses of Time Museum), which will house all the historical, iconographic, and filmographic documentation, including press reviews, posters, and much more. There are even traces of my first letters from 1971, carefully preserved. Who would have told me that I had to keep those documents written on an old typewriter for the future? No one did, but today, it’s history. Every step of this journey has not only been a milestone, but a starting point for new horizons, to leave an even deeper mark in the world of culture and education”.
“The constant and continuous collaboration with the Municipality of Giffoni Valle Piana and the Campania Region has fostered this network of cohesion and development. I’d like to sincerely thank all the representatives of the institutions, the mayors of Giffoni, Ugo Carpinelli, Carlo Andria, Nicola D’Alessio, Sabatino D’Alessio, Paolo Russomando, and Antonio Giuliano, the many presidents of the Salerno Province with whom we have collaborated through the years, including Alfonso Andria. However, the most important institution was undoubtedly the Regional government. In 1984, a regional law enshrining the protection of Giffoni’s artistic heritage, its development, and promotion -the first law ever among regional cultural events- was promoted by Isaia Sales, Gaspare Russo, and others. Presidents of the Campania Region Rastrelli, Bassolino, Caldoro, De Luca played their part, and this long story of mine bears their signature as well. I also fondly remember Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Minister of Economy and Finance, who financed the creation of the Cittadella del Cinema. Once again with Isaia Sales, undersecretary of state. These investments triggered a growth process that exceeded our expectations. Without impositions, without pre-established plans, a spontaneous mobilization took place among the local private sector: over the years, commercial activities, B&Bs, accommodations, restaurants, supermarkets, pizzerias, and pubs have sprung up. Alongside all this is education, which has always been a priority. For decades, we have chosen to collaborate with universities, bringing the Giffoni brand and story to universities in Italy and around the world. Professors and researchers have studied our story, and to date, about 300 theses have been written on the Giffoni case. I had the honor of meeting students from various degree courses, of listening to their reflections, of sharing our journey with them. I did this all over Italy and abroad, and each time it was an opportunity for mutual growth. I would like to mention as an example the investigation promoted by George Washington University, which, in collaboration with the University of Salerno, conducted an in-depth study after two years of analysis and research. In addition to the cultural aspects, Giffoni was highlighted as a brand to be known and studied. These results were published and made available to universities around the world”.
“Today – he continues – as I approach 75 years old, I feel that it is both my right and my duty to highlight the results of the immense work that has been done and is visible to all. Transparency, honesty, loyalty, balance, and respect for everyone have always been the guiding principles of our immense work. In this long story of over half a century, we have never had any issues with the management of public funds, ensuring all procedures and transparency. Except for an investigation in 2024, still ongoing, by the Court of Auditors regarding one of the sectors put out to tender, to which we provided all counterarguments with documents. Our website www.giffoni.it has been and is a great public tool for informing everyone about our activities. I have faced complex situations due to delays both in the allocation of investments and in the various steps of liquidation. When public funding is confirmed, in the best-case scenario, only in June, and agreements are signed in July, what can you do? There is no answer, except to ask for help from everyone who primarily contributes to the festival event and move forward. A striking example is what happened in 2024 regarding the Ministry of Culture. For years now, the maximum contribution provided by the MIC had been 950,000 euros. The evaluation committee allocates funding based on the applicant’s financial statement, so, if for years we have been in first place (and the second most funded event received 250,000 euros), this is not a political evaluation but a comprehensive assessment of the financial standing of our Ente and the activities we carry out throughout the year. However, two weeks before the festival, the Ministry lowered the maximum funding limit for festivals and Italian events, allowing the evaluation committee to allocate a maximum of 400,000 euros. This was a huge damage to Giffoni because the ranking was only published in February 2025, and Giffoni was the only festival cut in such a strong way. All other festivals received, with very few changes, the same amount as the previous year. I ask myself, why all this? Why this unjustified and, I would say, inappropriate hostility towards me and us?
“When, in February 2024, the President of the Campania Region, Vincenzo De Luca, announced to everyone that there was no longer any funding for Culture and Entertainment due to delays in signing the Development and Cohesion Agreement with the Government, I alerted everyone that Giffoni might not be held anymore. I defended the Festival, I defended this company, I put myself on the frontline, and I defended the thousands of boys and girls who every year wait for Giffoni as they wait for Christmas. In this latest phase of managing the structures built -which we were given by the local administration through a convention-, at least 450,000 euros are needed per year, and we have always been willing to let schools and local associations, and not only them, use them for free. We even became cinema exhibitors, a unique case among Italian festivals, with regular programming in theaters, offering a service to the entire area at prices reduced by 50% compared to nearby cinemas. It is an investment for the structures that have been built, a service that is owed, and of which, once again, I am proud. Unfortunately, often due to causes not attributable to my will, we have been unable to meet the payment deadlines related to contracts signed by employees, collaborators, companies, and all those who contribute in various ways to the overall life of our activities. They are the central core of all our work, and it is thanks to their understanding that today we continue on the path that is the only one that allows the festival to take place. Over the years, there have been disappointments and promises unkept by public investors, and commitments had to be honored thanks to loans taken out with personal bank guarantees by members of the Board of Directors and by myself. I stayed here, in my town, despite the obstacles, the ostracism, and the temptations calling me elsewhere with promises of personal gain. I do not say this with pride, quite the opposite. It pains me to underline it, because I never would have wanted it to be necessary.”
“I remind myself and everyone of the first thirty years of my life at the Festival, when with the money I earned playing the organ in the Churches, I supported the life of the Festival. I was never ashamed, and today I am proud to tell you that, needing to make a living, I participated in a typist competition at the Municipality of Giffoni Valle Piana and won it. That was my first salary. When my presence was required in Rome for meetings, I stayed in a hotel without a bathroom in the room and ate onions and beans. During the year, we all stayed together, sometimes cooking simple things just to feed ourselves. I learned to become a cinema operator with the old projectors, to edit films, trying to involve a greater number of organizers. My sober and reserved life can only be understood by following the administrative acts that partially compensated for my work. Only in 2010 was I hired by the Ente until 2022, and that was the only period when the economic value of my strong activity was recognized. I collaborated, after the two years spent at the Municipality as a typist, with the Campania Region, with the Departments of Tourism, Culture, and the Presidency. Then at the San Carlo Theatre and, in the late 90s, RAI and Filminvest called me to direct the first edition of the Umbria Fiction Television Festival. Three years of hard work during which I met many people who later became necessary for the continuation of my life at Giffoni. I stayed here, and for decades, I chose to ignore shortcuts, to carry on a mission I believe in. I have trained generations of collaborators, I have given concrete opportunities to many people, I have seen the rise of a new class of organizers who today are the lifeblood of Giffoni. Currently, there are about 90 of them, many from Giffoni Valle Piana and nearby towns: I am proud to have formed such a powerful team and given these young people the opportunity to express themselves right in their own town, without having to leave the place where they were born. Among them, my son Jacopo, who was hired by the Ente five years ago and who now serves as General Director. Together with my daughter Neviaclaudia, they were born and raised from the very first day in the Festival and with the Festival, always showing their humility and personality. I don’t understand, yet sometimes I do, those who don’t know the story of the Festival idea and how it is closely tied to the story of my family. In the early years, my mother helped me with meals as she had a restaurant; my father, although not fully understanding what I wanted to do, supported me financially by signing promissory notes at the bank. I mention these moments first and foremost to honor my family, and I also add my wife Alfonsina Novellino, who has always been by my side, taking care of the social aspects over the last twenty years. Like many, she was hired at the Festival and was the first to resign when, along with others, there were serious budget problems. You need to be careful when talking about Giffoni. You need to respect an idea, a story, a cultural enterprise born from nothing and built with effort, vision, and dedication.”
“I have laid solid foundations, built on rock, as the Gospel says, I do not fear the wind or the storm, the sand or the rain. Because I believe in the stability of truth. And I claim this solidity with strength, with determination, with rigor. Today more than ever, I am proud. I have started a new chapter with the birth of the Giffoni Experience Foundation – the Valley of Cultures, marking a decisive step in the transformation of our legal identity. And I feel at peace because I know that all the work of these decades is in good hands. It evolves, thanks to the energy and passion of young talented and determined people. In these years, I have always observed political dynamics closely, choosing the path of balance, never letting myself be dragged into sterile confrontations. I will continue to do so, without conflicts, without grudges. With the same determination as always. For me, for those who believed and continue to believe in this story, and for those who will carry it forward. Giffoni is a symbol of life. Of happiness. Of beauty that renews itself. And it is for this reason that the time has come to communicate to everyone that in 2025, with 55 years of history and 74 years of personal life, I will resign at the end of the year. How many times have I asked myself, who in the world has such a long life story leading a Festival? I remember Robert Redford with Sundance, founded in 1978, 7 years after Giffoni. The second is Robert De Niro, with Tribeca, founded in 2002, 31 years after Giffoni. And then the legendary Gilles Jacob, who directed the Cannes Festival at various levels since 1977 and has had no responsibilities since 2014. The team will be continuing this path. As far as I am concerned, from January 1, 2026, with God’s help, I will work on other initiatives, such as the Campus for Higher Education, entering the production world with animated and fiction films, and among these, one of the most beautiful and interesting tasks: to narrate, wherever I am called, the journey and the success of this beautiful and unique Italian story”.
