Once More unto the Breach

Michele Manzolini, Federico Ferrone / Italy / 2019 / International Premiere / 70 min.

synopsis

Because of his Russian origins, Italian soldier Romano Isman is called to the front to act as a military interrogator and translator for the fascist bigwigs and the local population. Isman’s narrative mixes a detailed description of the horrors of war and historical testimony with a lyrical disillusioned contemplation on the insignifi cance of the individual in the midst of war. The filmmaker creates a contrast between historicized illustrative images accompanying the narration of the protagonist and images of modern Ukraine and Russia, which to this day are still dealing with the despair and frustration caused by the events of the twentieth century.

“Il varco combines found footage of different origins. it's a fictional story populated by presences: ghosts wandering in the Ukrainian steppe, echoes of bloody pasts, and wars still being fought today.” M. Manzolini, F. Ferrone

biography

Italian director and graduate in semiotics Michele Manzolini (1980) and trained historian and political theorist Federico Ferrone (1981) have been creating documentary films together since 2007. They often address contemporary political and historical topics. For many years they worked as producers for the Al-Jazeera television network. Their film Train to Moscow (2013) was screened at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

more about film

director:	Michele Manzolini, Federico Ferrone
producer:	Claudio Giapponesi
editing:	Federico Ferrone, Maria Fantastica Valmori
sound:	Simonluca Laitempergher