Le mura di Bergamo

The Walls of Bergamo

Encounters 2023

In the first few months of 2020, huge swathes of Northern Italy were hit by a new virus. The town of Bergamo and its province was to become the epicentre of this pandemic. We see hospitals on the brink of collapse, distraught families and coffins being carried away by military convoy. And this is only the beginning of Stefano Savona’s heartbreakingly detailed and powerful new film. Following the abyss of the darkest days comes an even greater challenge: grieving. People meet to try to understand what has happened and overcome their fear and their pain. Nothing is as it was before and our perception of what we are used to calling life and death has completely changed. Digging into the memory of Bergamo’s recent and not-so-recent past, Savona questions the very notion of documentary cinema and asks: How should he film this interrupted cycle of life and death? How should he accompany survivors as they try to find a new place the world?

by Stefano Savona Italy 2023 Italian 137’ Colour Documentary Form

Crew

Director	Stefano Savona
In Cooperation with	Danny Biancardi, Sebastiano Caceffo, Alessandro Drudi, Silvia Miola, Virginia Nardelli, Benedetta Valabrega, Marta Violante
Screenplay	Stefano Savona
Cinematography	Stefano Savona
Editing	Francesca Sofia Allegra
Music	Giulia Tagliavia
Sound Design	Jean Mallet
Sound	Jean Mallet
Producers	Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Ferdinando Dell'Omo, Danielle Maloni

World sales

Fandango

http://www.fandango.it http://www.fandango.it

Produced by

ILBE

Photos

Stefano Savona

Born in Palermo, Italy in 1969, he studied archaeology and anthropology in Italy and the UK and participated in digs in Sudan, Egypt, Türkiye and Israel. He began working as a photographer in 1995. In 2010, he and Penelope Bortoluzzi founded the Picofilms production company in Paris. His documentaries have screened and won awards at numerous international festivals. Tahrir – Liberation Square won the David di Donatello award and the Nastro d’Argento for Best Documentary in 2012.

Filmography (documentaries)

1999 Roshbash Badolato 2001 Siciliatunisia; short documentary · Alfabe, abbecedario curdo; short documentary 2002 Un Confine di Specchi (Mirrored Borders) 2006 Primavera in Kurdistan (Notes from a Kurdish Rebel) 2008 Il Tuffo della Rondine; short documentary 2009 Piombo Fuso (Cast Lead) 2010 Spezzacatene 2011 Palazzo delle Aquile · Tahrir – Liberation Square 2018 Samouni Road 2023 Le mura di Bergamo (The Walls of Bergamo)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023