A feature documentary film focusing on the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935. Following the recent construction of a monument dedicated to Fascist general Rodolfo Graziani, the film addresses the unpunished war crimes he and others committed in the name of Mussolini's imperial ambitions. The stories of three characters, filmed in present day Ethiopia, Italy and the United States, take the audience on a journey through the living memories and the tangible remains of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia - a journey that crosses generations and continents to today, where this often overlooked legacy still ties the fates of two nations and their people.
Directed by Valerio Ciriaci,
USA | Italy | Ethiopia, 2015, documentary in English, Italian and Amharic with English subtitles, 72min.
starring Mulu Ayele, Nicola DeMarco, Giuseppe Debac
CHARACTERS In Rome we focus on the story of Mulu Ayele, a refugee in Italy who was forced to flee her home country of Ethiopia to avoid political persecution by the Derg, the military junta which took power in 1974 and ruled for the ensuing two decades. She is the president of the Ethiopian Community in Rome and the host of an independent radio show on Ethiopian issues. Our guide to the protests in Italy, Mulu is also a member of the Antifascist Committee in Affile, which opposes the Graziani monument.
In New York we follow Nicola DeMarco, a real estate agent and political activist. His grandfather was one of the many young peasants who fled the destitution of the Italian countryside in hopes of making a new life in occupied Ethiopia. When the Italian troops were expelled from the country, Nicola's grandfather returned to Italy, setting out again soon thereafter for New Jersey. Raised among his family's African memories, Nicola himself would later travel Ethiopia extensively to see with his own eyes the effects of the Fascist occupation. He is now one the most active member of the protests against the Graziani monument.
In Ethiopia, we meet Giuseppe Debac, coordinator of a UN agricultural development project funded by the Italian Development Aid organization. Deeply fascinated by the Italian-Ethiopian war, he collects historical documents and visits the sites of battles. Giuseppe explains that the monument to Graziani in Affile was barely discussed in Ethiopia, and that Italy is also remembered in a positive light for its impact on the modernization of Ethiopia and for its continued economic relationship with the Ethiopian people. We follow Giuseppe on the field in rural Tigray, and in the capital Addis Ababa where he takes part in the life of the still very present Italian community.
Director/Producer: Valerio Ciriaci Director of Photography/Producer: Isaak Liptzin Assistant Producer: Janna Kyllästinen Editor: Giovanni Pompetti Sound Editor: Luigi Porto Color Correction: Michael Hernandez Original Score by Francesco Venturi
COLLABORATORS Centro Primo Levi Archivio Centrale dello Stato Millecartoline WrongWay Pictures
2015 | ADIFF - African Diaspora Film Festival, New York, USA * GALA SCREENING * US Premiere * Screening: Teachers College, Columbia University (525 W. 120TH ST - New York, NY 10027), Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 @ 8:30PM Screening followed by Panel Discussion and Catered Reception
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