Trama

After the success of his last film, Renzo Arbore is looking for fresh ideas for a new project. While wandering aimlessly through the streets of Rome he discusses with Luciano De Crescenzo, who, aware of his friend's lack of vein, lets himself go to a prediction: only a miracle of San Gennaro could give the right inspiration to the two.

After the success of Il pap'occhio, Renzo Arbore is looking for fresh ideas for a new film. While he wanders aimlessly through the streets of Rome he discusses it with Luciano De Crescenzo, who, realizing his friend's lack of vein, lets himself go to a prediction: only a miracle of San Gennaro could give the right inspiration to the two. Thus discussing, the two find themselves pausing near a traffic light. Right here, a gust of wind causes a large amount of sheets to fall into the street, collected which, Arbore and De Crescenzo are amazed: it is the screenplay of an unpublished film by Federico Fellini entitled F.F.S.S., or Federico Fellini Sud Story. Realizing that they are right under the window of the great filmmaker, the two take the script and flee.

Thus begins the filming of F.F.S.S., with an Arbore in the double role of director and actor: the showman plays the role of Onliù Caporetto, an ungrammatical entrepreneur from Campania, who tries to bring the young Lucia Canaria to success. The girl, who works as an attendant of public toilets in Naples, is gifted with an extraordinary singing talent, but she is also suffering from a strange disease, Neapolitanitis: excessive exposure to perfumes, visions or sounds that remind her of her origins from authentic Neapolitan, it causes her sudden failures. The girl dreams of treading important stages, but the best that Onliù can offer her is some hosted on the ramshackle local television Tele Ottaviano. After the success of Il pap'occhio, Renzo Arbore is looking for fresh ideas for a new film. While he wanders aimlessly through the streets of Rome he discusses it with Luciano De Crescenzo, who, realizing his friend's lack of vein, lets himself go to a prediction: only a miracle of San Gennaro could give the right inspiration to the two. Thus discussing, the two find themselves pausing near a traffic light. Right here, a gust of wind causes a large amount of sheets to fall into the street, collected which, Arbore and De Crescenzo are amazed: it is the screenplay of an unpublished film by Federico Fellini entitled F.F.S.S., or Federico Fellini Sud Story. Realizing that they are right under the window of the great filmmaker, the two take the script and flee.

It is precisely in the studios of this station that Onliù and Lucia meet the Sheik Beige, musical revelation of the moment and inventor of the so-called Arabian sound. The Sheikh, annoyed by Onliù's veiled requests for recommendations, very curtly suggests to Lucia to change manager and seek her fortune in the city where the music scene was hurting the most. Lucia, however, has no intention of separating from Onliù, so the two embark on a rambling pilgrimage through Italy.

First they land in Milan, where they try to break into the world of advertising; after an initial enthusiasm, Lucia retires to her old job, that of keeper of public toilets. After that, the two move to Rome, but the result is not dissimilar; here, they try to access RAI on recommendation, but even Lucia ends up in prison for a trivial theft. Once reunited, Onliù and his client meet the Beige Sheikh again and, driven by the desire for revenge and their spirit of adventure, they join him to participate in the Sanremo Festival. The singer is determined to shock the audience, so he involves Lucia in an authentic drama interpretation that upsets the lineup of the singing festival. In the general turmoil, Lucia manages to take the microphone and sing a song. Everything would suggest the classic happy ending, but the screenplay stolen from Federico Fellini is incomplete; so that Arbore and De Crescenzo return to the master's house to beg for an idea for the finale.