“We human beings are but puppets in the hands of fate. Our lives are bound together by invisible strings. Sometimes as thin as silk threads. Other times as heavy as chains”.

"Noi esseri umani non siamo che marionette nelle mani del destino. Le nostre vite sono legate tra loro da corde invisibili. A volte sottili come fili di seta. Altre volte pesanti come catene."

The story:

Mestre: during the usual evening aperitif of a group of friends in their thirties, Alessandro, whose trail had been lost, reappears. After ten years abroad and a stay in Japan during which he affiliated with the yakuza, Ale has returned to avenge the death of his Egyptian brother-in-law and niece, which occurred under shady circumstances. Together with his old friend Giorgio, he begins a merciless hunt for the culprit, coming up against an obtuse and self-righteous province, which behind its clean façade hides a reality made up of drug rings, prostitution, and crime.

From the reviews:

“The impact, sentimental when it relies on memories, cruel when it strives to destroy them, is the same as that of the news, which splashes violence and cynicism across the front page as if nothing had happened. However, Ferracin manages to avoid any justification and slices society [...]”

Matteo Di Giulio, Milano Nera

“Violence and slaughter abound, both live and in flashback, but they do not obscure a well-constructed story and well-controlled dosage of effects [...]. The novel is read with curiosity and fun, a guarantee of good craftsmanship and an innate ability to build solid structures”. Stefano Giovanardi, La Repubblica

“[...] If you want a well-conceived story, with cinematographic taste, syncopated rhythm, breathtaking action sequences, with Venetian flavour, this is the book for you”.

Matteo Strukul, Sugarpulp

The author:

Francesco Ferracin (Venice, 1973) is an Italian novelist, screenwriter, and librettist. After studying literature and philosophy (Venice, Marburg, Linköping), he began a ten-year collaboration with the Condè Nast group's fashion and lifestyle magazines (especially Uomo Vogue and Vogue Italia). Over the years he extended his collaborations with international monthly and weekly magazines including Faces (Zürich), WestEast Magazine and WestEast Men Magazine (Hong Kong/Taipei).

In 2004 he founded the film production company Silk and Steel Productions in London with the aim of developing and producing feature films and trans-media projects involving European and Far Eastern creative talents. For Silk and Steel Francesco wrote and developed the projects: Jasmine (2004); Jasmine.elf (2005, in collaboration with award-winning Chinese director Lou Ye); That Year in China (2006, based on the "Chinese" diaries of Doris Rubens Macauley); The Golden Cage (2009, in collaboration with Finnish director Aku Louhimies); Eight (2010-2016, transmedia cinema-VR-AR project).

In 2008, he was the creator, artistic director, screenwriter and co-producer of the anthology film Uneternal City, presented at the 65th Venice Film Festival. The creatives involved in the making of the film include director Asif Kapadia (Oscar 2016 for Amy), director Xiaolu Guo (Locarno 2010), director Aku Louhimies and composer Dario Marianelli (Oscar 2008 for Atonement).

In September 2008, he published his first novel, “Una Vasca di Troppo” (Rome, Fanucci).

In 2009-2010 he wrote, in collaboration with Franco Battiato, the screenplay for the film Handel, to be directed by Franco Battiato himself.

In 2012-2013, he composed the text of the symphonic poem “L'incubo della farfalla”, original music by Franco Battiato. The poem was staged in May 2013, during the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo.

In 2017/18, he co-wrote with Matteo Strukul the English-language screenplay for the film Twilight Snow, in development at Filmallee GmbH and Filmschaft Füllmich & Maas GmbH.

November 2017 saw the publication of his non-fiction history book “Storie Segrete della Storia di Venezia” (Rome, Newton Compton), an attempt to analyse the Venetian 'soul' through key characters and events in its long history.

In November 2018 he published his second novel “Technoshock”, (Padua, Linea Edizioni)

In December 2019, he published “Venezia Sunrise” (Padua, Linea Edizioni).

In December 2020, the first season of the 10-episode audio-drama “Paganini”, co-written with Matteo Strukul was released on the Audible platform (an Audible Original production).

In 2022, he published “L'incubo della farfalla” (Padova, Linea Edizioni), an autobiographical poem. The book includes a short memoir about his artistic encounter with Battiato titled: “Franco Battiato e il Regno del Ritorno”.

In 2023 he is set to release “Dark Renaissance”, a visual-novel (videogame) co-written with Matteo Strukul and produced by V-Studio (Rome).