Observation and Participation: Rossella Schillaci presents her films Sea Boundary and Ghetto PSA
Tuesday 30 January
6:30PM – 8:30PM
at the Royal Anthropological Institute
Rossella Schillaci, prolific documentary filmmaker and anthropologist trained at the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology, will present two of her films (Sea Boundary and Ghetto PSA) and speak about the different filmic approaches that she uses in her work. Many of her films (Other Europe, Sea Boundary, Imprisoned Lullaby) employ a restrained and elegant observational style to explore themes of migration and search for identity. With Ghetto PSA however she embraced a participative approach that led her into the territories of ethnofiction. Rossella will speak about how she approaches the development and the making of her films, and about how she sees the difference between the observational and the participative modes that she employs.
6:30 – 7:30 Sea Boundary
7:30 – 7:45 Ghetto PSA
7:45 – 8:30 Presentation and Q&A
Sea Boundary
Italy / 2012 / 55 minutes
The film depicts the daily struggle of fishermen to earn a living in a harsh physical environment that brings out the social and economic tensions of modern society. Manning the Priamo are Cola, the captain, Ahmed, the Tunisian first mate, two Italian engineers, and two Tunisian seamen. At sea for three weeks at a time, they fish off the coasts of Libya and Tunisia, sometimes outside the fishing limits and risking interception by the authorities. An intimate account of remoteness: after a few days on shore, the men leave their homes and families for a month. Night and day the nets are cast every four hours; the work is demanding and poorly paid; the quarters are cramped and uncomfortable; conflicts and prejudices surface amidst the roar of the engines and the sea. Beyond the horizon lies Africa, where immigrants embark for Europe, leaving their homes and families behind in the hope of finding a better life.
Ghetto PSA
Italy / 2016 / 5 minutes
Jacob arrived in Italy alone from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. Today he is 27, and hip hop music is his whole world: it is his way to express dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to not feel part of the “ghetto” any longer. He lives on the outskirts of Turin, where, by day, together with other young migrants who are part of his band “Ghetto PSA”, he writes songs and makes music. At night, he works as an educator in a centre for asylum seekers. This “double life” leads him to reflect on his own identity, as a young Italian who speaks three languages, but who does not forget who he is and where he has come from.
This event is free, but tickets must be booked. To book tickets please go to https://schillaci.eventbrite.co.uk
Location : Royal Anthropological Institute
50 Fitzroy Street
London
W1T 5BT
United Kingdom
http://www.therai.org.uk
