Introduction by and Q&A session with Prof. dr. Sandra Ponzanesi (Gender Studies, UU)
In this
internationally prize-winning documentary, which focuses on the refugee crisis,
Gianfranco Rosi contrasts the lives of the desperate migrants landing on the
shores of Lampedusa with the everyday existence of the locals. Using mainly
fixed camera positions and no narrative voiceover, Gianfranco Rosi
enigmatically juxtaposes scenes, switching between the migrants’ daily,
desperate arrivals, and the everyday existence of one Lampedusa family: and one
young boy in particular, Samuele, whose solitary meandering through
the beautiful rugged island, making naught slingshots, creates a strong
contrast between his carefree childhood and the harsh realities of the
refugees.
Samuele has a lazy eye that doctors are
treating with the old-fashioned method of blanking out one lens for the good
eye. This becomes a metaphor for the lazy eyes of Europe, or for the EU desire
to look away. Though his camera work Rosi forces us to look at and focus on the
tragedy that continues to unfold in the Mediterranean. Samuele is also
suffering from hyperventilation and anxiety, and is treated by the same island
doctor, dr. Bartolo, who has to attend to the migrants for many years and
continue to carry out autopsies on their wretched corpses. He is the one of the
few explicit points of contact between the migrants’ story and Samuele, one
hint of a symptom, or a larger malaise.
Watch the trailer here:
Practical information
Date: 28 February
Time: 19:15 to 22:00
Location: Drift 21, room 032
In this
internationally prize-winning documentary, which focuses on the refugee crisis,
Gianfranco Rosi contrasts the lives of the desperate migrants landing on the
shores of Lampedusa with the everyday existence of the locals. Using mainly
fixed camera positions and no narrative voiceover, Gianfranco Rosi
enigmatically juxtaposes scenes, switching between the migrants’ daily,
desperate arrivals, and the everyday existence of one Lampedusa family: and one
young boy in particular, Samuele, whose solitary meandering through
the beautiful rugged island, making naught slingshots, creates a strong
contrast between his carefree childhood and the harsh realities of the
refugees.
Samuele has a lazy eye that doctors are treating with the old-fashioned method of blanking out one lens for the good eye. This becomes a metaphor for the lazy eyes of Europe, or for the EU desire to look away. Though his camera work Rosi forces us to look at and focus on the tragedy that continues to unfold in the Mediterranean. Samuele is also suffering from hyperventilation and anxiety, and is treated by the same island doctor, dr. Bartolo, who has to attend to the migrants for many years and continue to carry out autopsies on their wretched corpses. He is the one of the few explicit points of contact between the migrants’ story and Samuele, one hint of a symptom, or a larger malaise.
Watch the trailer here:
Samuele has a lazy eye that doctors are treating with the old-fashioned method of blanking out one lens for the good eye. This becomes a metaphor for the lazy eyes of Europe, or for the EU desire to look away. Though his camera work Rosi forces us to look at and focus on the tragedy that continues to unfold in the Mediterranean. Samuele is also suffering from hyperventilation and anxiety, and is treated by the same island doctor, dr. Bartolo, who has to attend to the migrants for many years and continue to carry out autopsies on their wretched corpses. He is the one of the few explicit points of contact between the migrants’ story and Samuele, one hint of a symptom, or a larger malaise.
Watch the trailer here:
