There was a large audience in attendance to listen to these ten local children who came to tell, this Sunday, June 30, 2024, their extraordinary journey to Parc Galea in Taglio-Isolaccio. The park director, Fabrice Fenouillière, took care to bring together artists and entrepreneurs with different backgrounds to highlight the diversity of island talents: Laure Limongi, Manon Venturi, Camille Pozzo di Borgo, Éléonore Pancrazi, Eric Fraticelli, Maxime Biaggi, Julien Santini, Francesco Santoni and the binomial Jessica Aben and Patricia Belmudès. However, everyone agrees on one point: attachment to Corsica. “Corsica is close to my heart. Of course, I talk about it, it’s part of my identity,” exclaims actor and streamer Maxime Biaggi. Author and artist Laure Limongi adds: “In Corsica, you can sometimes feel closed in. By definition, insularity is a maritime enclosure. Despite everything, this attachment to Corsica is part of me and is found in each of my books. I am shaped by this land.”
Although their Corsican origins may have been a hindrance to their beginnings, the participants agree that this is less and less the case: “When I started casting to become an actor in Paris, storyteller Maxime Biaggi, I was told I had to erase my accent. I found it hard, I felt like I had to betray my identity. People who make Corsican films like Pido are changing things. “ Francescu Santoni says that he could have set up his start-up and had the same success by staying in Corsica, but that he would have had more difficulty remaining focused on his work without being distracted by his social life.
Finally, perseverance and work were the watchwords of each participant in the round table. The lyrical singer Éléonore Pancrazi shared with the audience the moments of doubt that she went through: “When I no longer believed in it, my mother encouraged me to continue. Family is very important in Corsica and this support pushed me to go as far as possible.” And Eric Fraticelli concludes: “I say to the Corsicans and to all the others: Above all, don’t wait for someone to come and get you! Work, surpass yourselves!”
Corsicans who distinguish themselves in various fields
Laure Limongi, theauthor and artist
A child of Bastia, Laure left the island after high school to study literature. An editor for 15 years, then a professor of creative writing, she has written around fifteen critically acclaimed works, including You can’t hold the sea in your hands et Your heart is shaped like an islandAfter spending a year at the prestigious Villa Medici in Rome, where she combined literature and visual arts, she will release her next novel next February.
Manon Venturi, csynchronized swimming champion
Manon was a little Bastiaise like any other when she started synchronized swimming at the age of 6. She left her hometown when she was only 12 to join the best French center in her discipline, in Aix-en-Provence. She divides her time between sports and her studies. This year, she came second in the French synchronized swimming championship while preparing for her baccalaureate. Barely out of high school, the American university of San Antonio in Texas offered her the opportunity to join its ranks as a high-level athlete. Manon was already looking to the future and dreamed of joining the Cirque du Soleil.
Camille Pozzo di Borgo, artist-engraver
Camille grew up in Ajaccio, then studied at the Sèvres studio and at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. Fascinated by life since she was little, she creates drypoint engravings representing animals that can measure up to four meters. Her talent does not escape the famous luxury house Hermès, for which she creates silk squares in 2022. Camille will exhibit next September at the citadel of Ajaccio and is already planning to open an engraving workshop in her hometown.
Éléonore Pancrazi, clyrical haunter
Cortenaise Éléonore Pancrazi inherited her love of opera from her parents, creators of the Corte Lyric Singing Festival. After studying at the École Normale Supérieure de Musique in Paris, she sang all over the world. The mezzo-soprano will soon perform Carmen and will release his first solo album on November 14, combining Corsican music and lyrical singing.
The king of the box office
Eric Fraticelli, cactor, screenwriter and director
No need to introduce Bastiais Éric Fraticelli, better known as Pido. After studying philosophy, he finally turned to comedy. He was revealed to the general public in the film The Corsican Investigationthen played for six years in the series Mafia. Over the past four years, he has written and directed three films: Building permit, Le Clan et Inestimable. It achieved the best box office figures in Corsica.
Maxime Biaggi, actor and streamer
This young Bastiais, who attended Corte law school, has several million views on the YouTube and Twitch video platforms. In his bimonthly show, Zen, inspired by American talk shows, he welcomes guests like Léna Situations, Cyprien and Kev Adams. He filled the Zénith in less than a minute and is preparing to do another show in front of the public in Paris. He has just announced the end of the Zen show, but already has a thousand and one projects, still secret, for the months to come.
Julien Santini, cactor and comedian
Julien left Bastia at the age of 17 for the city of Lyon. He was a civil servant for nine years before becoming an actor and comedian. Revealed to the general public by the show We just want to laugh about it on France 2, he then performed in Parisian theaters, appeared in a film by Éric Fraticelli and hosted a column on France Inter. We will find him in September in Paris on the stage of the Théâtre des Mathurins.
A start-up on the rise
Francesco Santoni, cdirector of the start-up Mojo
Born in Bastia, Francescu studied in Corte and became a programmer between Paris and California for large companies in the digital sector. In 2018, he launched his own project, the start-up Mojo, to allow everyone to simply make short videos. Today, Mojo has twenty-five employees, has been downloaded more than forty million times and earns fifteen million euros in revenue each year.
Jessica Aben and Patricia Belmudès, finalists of the show Beijing Express on M6
These two colleagues took on the challenge of applying to participate in the show Beijing Express and were selected to join Indonesia to Vietnam with only one euro in their pockets. For several weeks, the Corsican duo kept M6 viewers in suspense. Although Jessica and Patricia did not win the show, they nevertheless went all the way to the final and, according to them, “won everything in this incredible adventure.”
