Ricordare = To Remember / directed by Gabriella Romano ; produced by Gabriella Romano.

[Place of publication not identified] : Privately Published, 2003.

1 online resource (42 minutes)

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To Remember is the first oral history documentary about being gay in Mussolini's Italy. Some Italian gay men agreed to talk about the frequent arrests, the constant fear, the "confino" and the repression, but also the anecdotes and the happy moments, mixing painful reconstruction and nostalgia. Italy had a flourishing underground gay men's life during the twenty years of dictatorship and, as long as there was no visibility, there was a certain degree of freedom. To Remember also focusses on the difficulties encountered in the process of making a film on this subject, and on the survivors' feelings of shame and fear that are still present nowadays. Only few gay men of that generation in fact agreed to be interviewed and none of them accepted to be identifiable, preferring to remain invisible. The film brings two generations of gay people together and tries to explain why older Italian gay men have deliberately avoided talking about the persecution they suffered. What at first seems an inexplicable, or even inexcusable refusal to talk, some 65 years after these events took place, gradually becomes the most eloquent way to depict a subtle type of repression, that worked from within. For these men, being gay coincided with secrecy, "discretion", self-censorship. A mentality that we consider a part of the past, but that obviously survives to this day among many gay men of older generations. Their reticence and silence give a clear idea of how deeply the repression was interiorised and how efficiently it worked its way. Invisible, yet omnipresent. This film is a tribute to those who found the strength to remember, however painful and sad these memories are, and at the same time to those who preferred to forget, throw it all behind to start a new life after the dictatorship. Their silence tells the other part of the story.

Images / Online / Video & Film

Italian

August 30, 2022

Documentary films.