On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the approval by the Italian Parliament of Law 180 on 13th May 1978 (known as Basaglia Law from the name of its promoter, Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia), the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) presents the screening of “Once Upon A Time There Was A Town Of Fools”, a film by Marco Turco, produced by Ciao Ragazzi Srl for Rai Fiction (180 min. with English subtitles)
The film tells of the activities of Franco Basaglia who revolutionized Italian psychiatry. It shows the degrading situation that existed in Italian psychiatric hospitals before the passing of Basaglia Law.
There used to be the City of Fools, the nuthouse. It wasn’t a place to heal but a place for segregation, a place to hide the shame of the mentally ill. Up until 1960, no one had ever questioned mental institutions, no one had ever confronted the power of psychiatry. Not until a young rebel psychiatrist from Venice who worked on the sidelines of the psychiatric world, lit the spark that turned into a fire: his name was Franco Basaglia.
It will take years for the psychiatrist to see the fruits of his hard work: May 13, 1978 the Parliament approved Law 180 for the national Psychiatric Reform which abolished mental hospitals in Italy.
Basaglia believed that the new psychiatry needs to go beyond the closing of mental institutions. It must deal with the causes that can lead to mental insanity: poverty, homelessness, addictions, and discrimination.
Light refreshments will be served during the intermission.
Guest speakers will give a brief talk followed by a Q&A: click here
Event flyer in English: click here
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