Speaking to Italy’s ANSA news agency at the Italian Cultural Institute, Styler recalled that although she had spent years touring the Amalfi Coast, she had never visited the southern port city until recently, and it left a lasting impression. “The discovery of Naples was a revelation for me. I didn’t just make a film; I fell in love with it,” she said.

The 71-year-old filmmaker, known for her work both in front of and behind the camera, was joined at the screening by her director of photography, two-time Oscar nominee Dante Spinotti, who lives in LA. “We’ve known each other since 1987. Having him behind the camera was a gift,” she said.

Reflecting on her past in Italy, Styler said: “I worked in Rome, gave birth to one of my four children in Pisa (Eliot Sumner, in 1990), and Sting and I have a house in Tuscany where we make wine. I’ve often been to the Amalfi Coast, so why had I never stopped in Naples?”

That question ultimately led her to accept an offer from Rai Cinema and Mad Entertainment. “They gave me carte blanche. I felt like I was in front of an immaculate canvas, driven only by the desire to understand this complex and vital city,” she explained.

The film’s title, Posso entrare? (May I come in?), reflects her approach to the project. Styler often found herself knocking on doors and windows in Naples’ alleys, slums, churches and homes. “I always heard the same answer, ‘Yes, come in.’ It opened a space of trust, a chance to talk about neighbourhoods, needs and dreams. That phrase became the heart of the film.”

The documentary weaves together a rich tapestry of Neapolitan voices, from everyday citizens like a glove maker who lost her daughter, to Norma, a nonagenarian former swimming champion who recalls Hitler’s visit to Naples and the turmoil of World War II.

It also features prominent figures in the fight against the Camorra and in the city’s civil rebirth, including Father Antonio Loffredo of the Rione Sanità, writer Roberto Saviano, city councillor Alessandra Clemente (whose mother was killed by a stray bullet) and the grassroots activists of Forti Guerriere, a group combating domestic violence.

Produced by Big Sur, Mad Entertainment, Rai Cinema and Luce Cinecittà, the documentary premiered at the Rome Film Fest and was later presented at New York’s MoMA in 2024.

The film opens with an electrifying three-minute rap by artist Clementino, summarising 3000 years of Neapolitan history. “I didn’t want to give a history lesson,” said Styler. “But people told me, ‘You have to tell our roots.’

“The idea came to me in the shower, to do it with a rap.”

One of the film’s most poignant moments comes in a musical cameo by Sting. Playing a guitar crafted from wood recovered from migrant boats, he performs beneath the barred windows of the Secondigliano prison. “It wasn’t hard to convince him, quite the opposite,” Styler shared. The two have been married since 1992 and have worked together on numerous humanitarian causes.

Styler also spoke with humour about the filming process: “I’ve never drunk so much coffee in my life, [I had] an espresso every hour. I’ve developed a kind of addiction. But I truly believe Naples has the best coffee in Italy, maybe the world.”

ANSA