Black Pasta ( Pasta Nera )

Black Pasta (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Original Title: Pasta Nera
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Dolby Digital Stereo )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
54 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2011 and produced in:
Italy ( Italy, Greece )

Directed By:
Alessandro Piva

Written By:
Alessandro Piva

Actors:
Alessandro Piva

Synopsis:

1947-1952. The war is over and Italy is devastated, but enthusiasm for the budding democracy is spreading throughout the country. In a climate of cooperation between anti-Fascist powers to reconstruct the nation, thousands of families from the centre-north open up their homes to children coming from the worst hit and inherently poor areas of the south. In no time at all the initiative grows into a national movement, propounding a conception of solidarity and assistance that has its roots in the values of the Resistance. It finds concrete solutions to the most pressing problems, making up for the absence of institutional aid. Women are the undisputed leaders of this enormous organisational machine: despite all kind of problems, the Unione Donne Italiane (Italian Union of Women) and committees set up in each city manage to provide these damaged and malnourished children with a context of dignity and deliverance. The protagonists of this story, by now grandparents, recall this unprecedented experience through their childhood eyes, creating an emotional short-circuit between childhood and old age. Through their stories, rare film footage from the Luce film archive and private photographic archives, Pasta nera portrays one of the best examples of solidarity between the north and south of Italy.

This is a story reconstructed through numerous recollections of a journey embarked on by children, but really it is a unique and wonderful story about Italian solidarity. The story is split into scenes of the participants filmed in their homes, the places where they grew up, their objects and their few jealously guarded photos. And then there is the history of the reconstruction of Italy. Archives, film news and historic film footage contextualise the post-war country: the disembowelled cities, the indomitable strength of the women, childhood living conditions in the big cities and the hunger. They all remember that. Just as they remember the colour of the pasta - black - which after all those years of war seemed like the best thing in the world.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 10 January, 2012.