Yesterday morning an audience of students from the fourth and fifth grades of the scientific high school Spadafora’s Galileo Galilei filled the Apollo cinema in Messina symbolically joining the over 60 thousand young people from all over Italy for the national preview of the film “The boy with the pink trousers”. Inspired by the true story of Andrea Spezzacatenaa teenager who took his own life in 2012 after being a victim of bullying and cyberbullying, the film is much more than a simple cinema screening: it represents a cry of alarm, a call for awareness and solidarity to stop the silent pain that too many young people experience every day.
Andrea, a boy like many others, was only fifteen when his life was cut short. He loved wearing pink trousers, a symbol of personality and desire to express himself freely, but which also became the reason why some classmates targeted him. The insults, humiliations and derision did not stop at school: social media amplified the hatred, leading Andrea to live in a prison of loneliness and shame. A suffering so intense that it pushed him to make an extreme gesture, leaving a destroyed family and a void which today, thanks to the courage of his mother Teresa Manes, has become a mission against all forms of bullying.
During the streaming connection, which took place after the national screening of the film, Teresa Manes recalled that dramatic day in the morguewhen in front of the lid of Andrea’s coffin she made a promise to herself: she would not allow the memory of her son to be forgotten. «The words must come», he said, his voice breaking with emotion, «they asked me if I wanted to say my final goodbyes, but I decided not to go. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let Andrea go so easily. For me the book and the film are not works about death but a hymn to life. Life is beautiful and deserves to be lived wonderfully.”
His words were a beacon of hope for all the young people present. Teresa continued by explaining that for her the book and the film bring Andrea back to school, “where he should have been”.
Andrea’s mother encouraged the boys and girls not to let silence and fear crush themreminding them how important it is to speak up and ask for help. «This film is for you: a message that I hope will give you strength and courage, because each of you is worth it». Alongside her, the cast of the film, including the young protagonist Samuele Carrino, the director Margherita Ferri, the singer Arisa and the screenwriter Roberto Proia, shared the profound meaning of this project with the boys and girls. The film was in fact created with the aim of raising awareness and creating a space for reflection on how devastating the effects of bullying are and how fundamental it is to react with the support of adults.
The event, made possible thanks to the support of the Apollo cinema, was strongly supported by Loredana Polizzi, the ownerwhich for the occasion opened its doors to students and teachers, reiterating the importance of continuous and profound awareness on these issues. «We have opened our doors to male and female students and teachers because we firmly believe that raising awareness on issues such as bullying should start with adults», declared Polizzi. «It is the professors and all of us who have to set a good example, to learn how to deal with and understand the sensitivity of topics like these».
In the theater, the young people of Spadafora’s “Galileo Galilei” followed the film in a respectful and touching silence, interrupted only by moved and thoughtful glances. Marco Pavone, one of the students present, described the experience as “deeply touching”: “It made me think about how sometimes we don’t realize the effect our words and actions can have on others. I didn’t know Andrea’s story, but now I feel it close to me. I want his sacrifice to really help change something.”
Also the principal Giovanna De Francesco, accompanying her male and female students, expressed her hope that experiences like this can open up new spaces for dialogue and discussion within schools: «Our task as educators is to be present and listen. School is not only a place of learning, but must also be a refuge, a safe place where no one should feel alone.”
The emotional involvement was palpable, and many young people found comfort and inspiration in the words of Teresa Manes, who transformed immeasurable pain into a powerful message of hope. Andrea’s story, now immortalized in the film “The Boy with the Pink Pants”, has become a hymn to life, an invitation to fight bullying and to never ignore the signs of suffering in those close to us. As the boys and girls left the room, more aware and thoughtful looks could be perceived, signs of a change taking place. Each of them, perhaps, brought with them a new message: the importance of mutual respect and support, so that stories like Andrea’s are never repeated again.