Io Capitano

Io Capitano follows Seydou and Moussa, two teenage cousins who leave Dakar with dreams of reaching Europe and becoming famous musicians. Their hopes of a better life carry them across the Sahara and through Libya, where the journey exposes them to dangers far beyond anything they imagined, including detention and the perils of the sea crossing toward Italy. Directed by Matteo Garrone, who wrote the screenplay with Massimo Gaudioso and Massimo Ceccherini, the film is a contemporary odyssey about two young people determined to hold on to their dignity and their friendship.

Released in 2023, the film sits after Pinocchio in Garrone's filmography, which also includes The Embalmer, First Love, Gomorrah, Reality, Tale of Tales and Dogman. Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall play the two leads, with Issaka Sawadogo, Hichem Yacoubi, Doodou Sagna and Khady Sy in supporting roles. Produced by Garrone and Paolo Del Brocco, the film was a co-production involving Belgium, Italy, the United States and France.

Made for a budget of about 13 million USD, the film drew strong notices. On IMDb it holds a 7.6 rating from roughly 18,000 votes, and on TMDB a 7.8 from 853 votes, showing solid audience approval. A critics' rating of 7.9 from 113 reviews is consistent with that response, indicating the film was received about as well by reviewers as by viewers.