Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival is one of the largest documentary film festivals in North America, featuring over 200 films from around the world. This year's festival starts April 27th, through May 7th, featuring a delegation of 6 production companies from Italy that will be participating. They will be showcasing their latest documentaries, including 4 official selections, 6 films at the Doc Shop, and 6 projects in development. The Italian delegation brings a unique perspective to the festival, highlighting Italy's rich cultural heritage and diverse perspectives on contemporary issues. The films cover a wide range of topics, from environmental activism to personal journeys of self-discovery. Our participation promises to add a distinct flavour to the festival, with exciting opportunities for collaboration and networking. Don't miss this change to experience the best of Italian documentary filmaking at Hot Docs 2023!
ITALIAN DOCUMENTARIES OFFICIALLY SELECTED AT HOT DOCS CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023
AFTER THE BRIDGE Directed by Davide Rizzo, Marzia Toscano | Program World Showcase
In the hours after the 2017 London Bridge attack, a mother’s worst nightmare comes true. Television crews swarm Valeria Collina’s small house in the hills of Bologna as she discovers her son Youssef was one of the assailants and has been killed. With the world’s eyes turned on her, Valeria immediately condemns Youssef’s actions and begins the difficult task of mourning a child she thought she knew. A once-aspiring Italian actor, Valeria converted to Islam two decades ago and is now forced to confront questions around her faith and that of her son, who had become a radicalized jihadist in his later years. Interweaving theatrical monologues and archival footage, filmmakers Davide Rizzo and Marzia Toscano create a compelling narrative of memory and loss. A compelling, humanizing and moving portrait of grief, After the Bridge reveals a woman moving through the aftermath of tragedy and putting the pieces of her shattered life back together.
AFTER WORK Directed by Erik Gandini | Program The Changing Face Of Europe
If you had money without having to work, what would you do? Cultivate your curiosity? Die of boredom? Exploring the human drive to be productive, the origins of the “work ethic,” and labour theory, After Work considers toil, yesterday, today and tomorrow. A collection of stories and subjects from four continents, including Noam Chomsky and Yanis Varoufakis, cover redundancy, exploitation, worker engagement, and the morality of leadership. From forced computer shutdowns to prevent overwork in South Korea to the Swedish six-week summer holiday, Kuwait’s constitutional provision granting all citizens an occupation, to idle Italian NEETs, is there more to life than the grind? What would a future without work and its central role in shaping our lives and identities look like? As human jobs are increasingly assumed by automation and AI, will universal guaranteed income and unlimited leisure replace employment? Before the 17th century, leisure, not work, was the blessed state, so what would a return to that mean for our minds, values, and ethics?
OUR FATE Directed by Michele Sammarco | Program Shorts
A hard-working octogenarian couple see their farming values and legacy being lost on the next generation. There are ripe olives that aren’t being harvested, young people constantly on their phones and there’s no higher power to call on since people are the saints now. So, they complain to each other about waste and laziness, the changing weather and climate. They know, the wind and snow know, but do we?
PURE UNKNOWN Directed by Valentina Cicogna, Mattia Colombo | Program International Spectrum
What happens when the dead have no identity? They land in Dr. Cristina Cattaneo’s autopsy room. Classifying them as “pure unknowns,” Cattaneo’s team documents each one, and advocates for European nations to take responsibility for the refugee crisis occurring on the Mediterranean Sea.
Links to our delegates' websites available below:
