There were several suspects, but the murderer – who mutilated the female victims – never got caught.
What happened had a lot to do with the patriarchal culture here in Italy, how men view women, says director Stefano Sollima to TT during the film festival in Venice.
Sollima has, among other things, the successful TV series "Gomorra" and "Zerozerozero" on his CV. His father Sergio Sollima was also a director, known for, among other things, the classic spaghetti western film "A bloody knife – a deadly shot".
No one has been convicted
In Italy, the story of the monster from Florence is well-known and the case is still open. Several people have been prosecuted over the years, but no one has been convicted of the many and brutal murders. The series follows some of the suspects and they have a main suspect, even if nothing has been proven.
Everything is depicted exactly as it happened, says Sollima.
We have also used the real names of those involved. It can, in itself, be a bit limiting from a creative point of view, but we did not want to tell about the police investigation itself, we wanted to tell about the suspects, about the monster.
The series jumps back and forth in time. Why?
Because we follow the suspects, see everything from one person's point of view. Then we go back and follow it from another person's point of view. And the case is still open. The last murder took place in 1985, but the case has not been solved yet.
"Harder for serial killers"
Sollima claims that Italy has had very few serial killers and believes that it may be because it is a Catholic country.
We have a family structure that you do not have, for example, in the USA. There are not as many lonely, isolated people here. It makes it harder for a serial killer to do their job.
But why does popular culture have such a fascination with serial killers?
It is the evil that comes close to us. We want it to be far away, here it comes close. There is a strange allure to this, says Stefano Sollima.
Corrected: In an earlier version, there was an error in the quote about the patriarchal culture in Italy.
Age: 59 years.
Lives: In Rome.
Occupation: Screenwriter, director.
Previous films and TV series in selection: "Suburra", "Gomorra", "Sicario 2: Soldado", "Zerozerozero", "Tom Clancy: Without mercy", "Adagio".
Current with: "The monster from Florence" which is streamed on Netflix with a premiere on October 22.
