«Why did you make this film?» This question was asked to me, in a very categorical tone, by a 17 year old student, in Florence, on the preview of «Porte aperte». Anticipating my reply, he added : «Why did you make a film against death sentence, whereas it certainly would be very useful today?» Silence. I don't like films «à thèse», and when I make a film, I forget about any theme or message. In the beginning, I was a little scared of this film. Above all, I was scared the subject would be dated and not very urgent; I was running the risk of making a costume film, a dated portrait and nothing more. In his book, Leonardo Sciascia deals with a Sicilian news item from 1937, times when capital punishment was legal in a Fascist state. Today, half a century later, Italy is a different world...was what I thought. How many doubts during the shooting... and now the question asked by this young student was completely reversing the problem. Other cities, other audiences, and still the same question : why does your film turn down death sentence? My biggest fear was to make a costume film ; now I come up with one question: have I possibly made a neo-realistic film?