“Like a man on Earth” [Come un uomo sulla terra, 2008, 60′] by Andrea Segre and Dagmawi Ymer
“Like a man on Earth” is a journey of sorrow and dignity, through which Dagmawi Yimer can give voice to the almost impossible memory of human sufferings, for which Italy and Europe must be held responsible, as they cannot hide them for long. This is the film that in 2008-2009 shocked many Italians, contributing to break the silence on the dramatic consequences of the Italy-Libya agreement for the contrast of illegal immigration.
The film follows Dag’s story. Law student in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), who decided to leave his country because of the strong political repression. In Winter 2005 he crossed the desert between Sudan and Libya. However in Libya he had to endure not only the violence of those smugglers managing the journey towards the Mediterranean, but also and most of all the abuses and violence of the Libyan police, responsible of blanket arrests and inhuman deportations. Read more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Z86oFrGLI
Andrea Segre (Dolo, Venice, 1976). After gaining important experience in television, he turned his attention to the documentary, focusing on the social and geographical territory of Italy and the themes of immigration into Europe. His most recent documentaries include: IL SANGUE VERDE (2010), MARE CHIUSO (2012), INDEBITO (2013). In 2010 he directed his first full-length fiction film, SHUN LI AND THE POET, presented at numerous international festivals and winner of many awards, including the European Parliament’s LUX Prize in 2012, and distributed in over thirty countries.
Dagmawi Yimer (Addis Ababa, 1977) director and cinematographer, studied law in Ethiopia, but because of the strong political repression in his country, he decided to emigrate. In 2005 Dag crossed the desert between the Sudan and Libya left his country after the 2005 post-election unrest and came ashore in Lampedusa in 2006. He co-authored the film The Desert and the Sea (2007) with other migrants; codirected the 2008 multiple award winning documentary Like a Man on Earth and directed the documentary films Dear Italy (2009) and Nothing but the Sea (2011). In 2011 he coordinated and directing an episode of the collective film project Welcome to Italy. His latest work includes the 2013 film Va’ pensiero (Walking Stories) about two racist attacks in Milan and Florence, and a Asmat (Names), a short film in memory of all victims of the sea produced in 2015.
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“Closed Sea” [Mare chiuso, 2012, 60′] by Stefano Liberti, Andrea Segre
Since March 2011, after the outbreak of the Libyan War, many African migrants and refugees escaped from the country. While a part of this flow has found shelter in refugee camps at the border with Tunisia, others managed to reach Italian coasts by boat.
Many of them had been previously pushed back by Italy as a result of an agreement signed by Berlusconi and Gaddafi in 2008. Since the signature of this deal, all migrants intercepted at sea by the Italian navy were forcibly returned to Libya, where they were exposed to any kind of abuses by local police. Read more
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Stefano Liberti (Rome, 1974) is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. He is a contributor to many magazines—both Italian and international—including Internazionale, Le monde Diplomatique and Al Jazeera English. In 2008, he wrote the book “A sud di Lampedusa” (South of Lampedusa), which was awarded the Indro Montanelli prize for writing. In 2011, he wrote the book “Land grabbing: Journeys into the new colonialism”, translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.
As a documentary filmmaker, he directed many movies, both for television and for movie theaters. In 2010, he directed “L’inferno dei bimbi stregoni” (The hell of child-wizards), which received the Anello Debole prize. Two years later, he co-directed “Closed sea” with Andrea Segre and in 2013, he co-directed “Container 158” with Enrico Parenti, presented at the Rome International Film Festival. Thanks to EJC grants, he is now focusing on multimedia productions.
The screening of “Come un uomo sulla terra” e di “Mare chiuso” will be preceded by a brief introduction by Gianluigi Rotondo, Italian researcher at Monash University. His research is about the values and the in depth processes created by intercultural interaction, applied to the special cases of refugees and asylum seekers.
Free event. RSVP essential: E iicmelbourne@esteri.it; T 9866 5931
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Dates of the next screenings
29th November: Roberto Minervini, “The other side” [2015, 92′]
6th December: Alina Marazzi, “Vogliamo anche le rose” [2007, 84’]
Reservation no longer available