Tracce di confine – Visual notes from the ukrainian present
TEN SCREENS VIDEO INSTALLATION / COLOR / 16:9 / 2024
Produced by Associazione La Terza Via
SYNOPSIS
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russian television broadcast a pre-recorded speech by Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, in which he announced the start of a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.” A large-scale invasion of Ukraine had begun, with cities like Kyiv and Dnipro under heavy Russian missile fire. What was intended by Putin to last for a few days turned into the largest conventional conflict in Europe since 1945, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of lives, many of them innocent, and causing the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the end of World War II.
In March 2023, Ludovico Gualano, a young Italian activist, embarked on a journey to Ukraine aboard “Giuditta,” a refurbished off-road vehicle designed for rescue and transportation. His journey spanned over 13,000 kilometers and lasted for three months during which he carried out various missions to support people and animals in the areas and regions most affected by the conflict, establishing connections and networks of solidarity. His presence in Ukraine provided an opportunity to reflect on the role of images and visual production in the contemporary social landscape.
Is it necessary to be a filmmaker to hold a video camera?
Is there a right way to document a conflict?
Can one produce fresh and unique images in a media-saturated context?
We decided to address these questions by entrusting Ludovico with a small handycam and approaching him with a highly specific filmic method and mindset derived from the cinematic production of Wang Bing. Working remotely with the images and focusing on specific human contexts, we managed to gather a vibrant visual narrative that, in our view, fills a void in the current narrative of the conflict.
CREDITS
Directed by Federico Allocca, Ludovico Gualano, Andrea Sestu
Filmed by Ludovico Gualano
Edited by Federico Allocca, Andrea Sestu
Music by “Demona” also known as Andrea Evangelista and Delio Gallmann
SHOWN
- Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan / September 23, 2023
- La Spilleria, Cassina de’ Pecchi (MI) / October 08, 2023
- Sala Consiliare, Cassina de’ Pecchi (MI) / October 16, 2023
- Scuola Mohole, Milan / February 24, 2024
- Centro Civico Giuseppe Verdi, Segrate (MI) / From June 14th to June 22nd, 2024
ARTICLES
- Prima La Martesana – “Vi racconto un Paese in guerra”, la testimonianza di un volontario di Cassina de’ Pecchi tornato dall’Ucraina
- Comune di Segrate – Ucraina. Tracce del presente.
- AGENPARL ITALIA – Mostra – installazione “Ucraina. Tracce del presente”
- Fuori dal Comune – Ucraina. Tracce del presente: dal 14 al 30 giugno al Centro Verdi
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SPECIAL THANKS TO
Raffaele Allocca, Pietro Bogani, Valentina Bongiovanni, Gianlorenzo Bernabò Di Negro, Alessio Cauteruccio, Greta Ilia Cavaliere, Gianni Caminiti, Kaiya Collective, Davide Gorla, Vito Longo, Francesca Lucarelli, Cosimo Lupo, Giovanni Lupo, Andrea Mandelli, Federica Mandelli, Massimo Mandelli, Piero Marchesi, Alessandro Mauri, Simone Moioli, Keivan Motavalli, Umberto Passeri, Chiara Quagliarella, Francesco Riggio, Laura Salomoni, Claudio Scotti, Giuliana Sembenini, Mariia Sirochenko, Donato Torri, Emanuele Vailati, Ufficio Cultura del Comune di Segrate.
