In 1941, an Italian soldier is leaving for the Soviet front. The Fascist army is allied with the Nazi war machine. Victory seems close. The convoy moves forward, men are singing and hopeful. The soldier’s mind goes back to the melancholic fairy tales his Russian mother told him. Unlike his younger companions, he has already been to war, in Africa, and he fears it. The train crosses Europe, reaching the interminable expanses of the Ukrainian plains. As winter arrives, enthusiasm wanes under the first mortar shells, the cold and the snow. The most heartfelt desire is no longer victory, but rather a warm bed, food, and to go back home. The immense wind ravaged steppe seems to be inhabited by ghosts.
Regia di Federico Ferrone e Michele Manzolini
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Produced by Kiné in association with Istituto Luce Cinecittà
in collaboration with Home Movies – Archivio Nazionale del Film di Famiglia
in collaboration with Rai Cinema
with the contribution of Regione Emilia-Romagna – Emilia-Romagna Film Commission
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Facebook: @IlVarcoFilm
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FESTIVAL
2019
Official Selection at the 76th Mostra internazionale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia – Sconfini
13th Salina DOC Fest – Competion
Jury Special Mention – 37th Annecy cinèma italien
International Documentary Film Festival Jihlava
De Rome à Paris
Missing Film Festival
2020
Festival du Cinema Contemporain Italien de Tours
Best Film “What the Doc!” Section – Docsbarcelona
Linz Film Festival – Crossing Europe
Shangai International Film Festival
Best historical documentary Beyond Borders International Documentary Festival – Castellorizo
European Film Awards- Documentary selection
Festa do Cinema Italiano 8½ – Brasile
Scanorama European Film Forum
Best Editing – European Film Awards
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YEAR | 2019 |
LENGHT | 70′ |
GENRE | Fiction |
FORMAT | HD from 9,5mm, 16mm, 8mm, Super8 |
PRODUCTION | Claudio Giapponesi (Kiné) |
DIRECTED BY | Federico Ferrone and Michele Manzolini |
SCREENPLAY | Federico Ferrone, Michele Manzolini and Wu Ming 2 |
NARRATOR | Emidio Clementi |
DOP | Andrea Vaccari |
EDITING | Maria Fantastica Valmori |
MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN | Simonluca Laitempergher |
DISTRIBUTION | Istituto Luce Cinecittà |
INTERNATIONAL SALES | Slingshot film |