On several occasions the Gargano railway has risen to the celluloid honors, certainly thanks to its natural scenery and the fact of being a secondary railway rather protected from prying eyes. Except for the short film of the inauguration event shot by the Istituto Luce, the first appearance is on the set "La legge" (original title "La loi") directed by Jules Dassin and interpreted among others by Gina Lollobrigida, Pierre Brasseur, Marcello Mastroianni and Yves Montand.
This is an Italian-French co-production comedy of 1959 whose plot is centered on the law, the unwritten low but to which all are subject, which regulates the life of a small agricultural center. The head of the village is Don Cesare, who lives in a large house surrounded by women. Among these we note for the beauty, but also for the independence of the character, Marietta, daughter and nephew of servants of the house of Don Cesare. She falls in love with an agronomist from the continent, but also other eyes have settled on her ... A short scene takes place in the station of Carpino camouflaged by what in fact is: a southern village station.
But the real moment of glory was in 1990 when an entire crew settled in the station of San Marco in Lamis for the shooting of the film "La stazione".
Produced by Fandango under the direction of the debutant Sergio Rubini tells the story of Domenico (the same Sergio Rubini), a young stationmaster in a small station in a small village of the south. His job is handed down to him by his father. On a cold and rainy night, it seems that everything flows as usual in the small station. But suddenly comes Flavia (Margherita Buy). Beautiful, tall, in evening dress.
She left her boyfriend Danilo (Ennio Fantastichini) at a party in a nearby villa and took refuge in the station waiting for a train to take her back to Rome. Domenico is upset to the point that he cannot fulfill anymore the tasks that are so familiar to him inside the station. Suddenly Danilo comes on stage trying to bring Flavia back to the party to get financial guarantees from her for a shady deal. The story takes on dramatic tones but the dangerous Danilo it’s neutralized with cunning and all can Flavia do is to take the train to Rome leaving the astonished Domenico to his usual duties.
In September 2014 in Manfredonia and Monte Sant'Angelo the Rai fiction "Baciato dal sole", produced by Pepito Produzioni di Agostino Saccà, directed by Antonello Grimaldi. Foggiana Daunia Production, who took care of the location management, was among the subjects that actively collaborated with the production. The protagonist is Guglielmo Scilla, who plays Elio role , a YouTube character known as Willwoosh. In the cast also Nina Torresi, Barbora Bobulova, Pietro Bontempo, Catherine Spaak and Giuseppe Zeno. The fiction tells the story of Elio, a 25-year-old Pugliese who aspires to become famous and moved to Rome to take part in the talent show "Re per una sera". Here you can observe on the small screen the images of Monte Sant'Angelo and some frames of Manfredonia and the Tremiti Islands. But also the hills of the Gargano and the houses of its villages, squares, bars and buses of the Ferrovie del Gargano.
The Ischitella station, a FerGargano train and some of the most suggestive corners of the promontory were also protagonists in the fiction on the RAI flagship network "Questo è il mio paese" with Violante and Michele Placido. After an initial processing phase (November 3-December 20, 2014), the TV series filming started on March 16TH 2015 and for 6 weeks. Produced by Cross Productions and Rai Fiction with the logistical support of the Apulia Film Commission, the fiction was filmed between Vico del Gargano, Manfredonia, Ischitella, San Marco in Lamis and the Foresta Umbra. "Questo è il mio paese " is the imaginary and symbolic portrait of Anna, a normal woman who discovers an unexpected force and becomes a civil heroine, determined to fight against the mafias to defend the integrity of the institutions and for the well of the population it represents.
In the same area was shot in 1998 "Figli di Annibale", with Diego Abantantuono and Silvio Orlando. The film tells the drama of two men, Domenico and Tommaso, very different from each other, forced to face a journey after an attempted robbery in which Domenico is the robber and Tommaso the hostage. The journey, which will take them from Como to Africa, will be an opportunity for both to come to terms with their lives and their families: Tommaso will put in contact with the young daughter while Domenico will re-establish the broken relationship with his sister.