Walls of fame
Telling the story of a community’s identity, history, and traditions through a documentary is a tremendous responsibility. We aimed to provide an authentic portrayal of the territory, its roots, and its memories. In this investigation, we experienced and documented unexpected emotions, shattered dreams, open wounds, and yet vibrant hopes and courageous endeavors.
The murals in this project are portals that open onto the memory of each town, keys to enter these small worlds and discover their secrets, to reach their soul. Through the reflections, questions, and truths that each mural tells, we have investigated the identity of each of the eight municipalities in the Sosio Valley and the heritage of cultures, traditions, and vibrant humanity that has emerged, far surpassing the threshold of wonder.
Ours is a partial, yet already rich, portrait of the values of these communities. It is a first virtual tour of the imaginary journey that the iArt works want to inaugurate, a journey that gives those who visit these communities the keys to understand a unique and ancestral identity. And perhaps even more so, it is a way for those who live in these communities every day to recognize themselves once again in their own values, to proudly reaffirm them.
We decided to title the documentary “Walls of Fame” because these walls have been used to depict everything that is truly important, iconic, and indispensable to these communities, a sign that reaffirms, once again, the echo of their identities.
One of the criteria of our investigation was the deep connection between the Sicilian territory and the world of cinema. The recent history of these towns has been marked by experiences and connections with the world of cinema that have had a huge emotional and cultural impact on the consciousness of these places. And it is precisely the themes of cinema in Sicily that have been the starting point for a research on the traditions, identity, and current realities of these villages, where little-known cultural heritages are preserved, the precious mastery of field work is preserved, and the slow and bitter bleeding of emigration is experienced.”
The cinema
It all began with beauty. From cinema, which, after all, captures this beauty and makes it immortal. And there are countless stories that link this Sicily to the world of great cinema, from the life of Frank Capra, who emigrated from Bisacquino and rose to fame and Oscars in Hollywood, to the experience of Cinema Paradiso, which transformed Palazzo Adriano into an open-air set, involving an entire town in an unforgettable adventure and forever marking the identity of the place.
Agriculture
Local economies, culture and traditions are obviously intrinsically linked to work in the fields, even cinema talks about it, just think of the documentary la Parabola d’oro by Vittorio De Seta. In these territories everything is linked to Mother Earth, to wheat, to the cycle of the seasons. That of the farmer is the most widespread profession even today. There is a deep pride on the part of these people in carrying on these traditions, inherited from their grandparents, from fathers who dedicated their lives to the land. A life marked by slow rhythms and cycles that repeat themselves endlessly, a routine that is unthinkable for our times, but according to those who lead this life, it still gives a joy that we know nothing about. The joy of contact with the earth, the simple act of feeding the animals raised that is repeated incessantly at every dawn.
Traditions and cults
Agriculture is an ancestral profession, which has its roots in pre-Christian earth cults and traditions, whose origins are lost in history. And it is no coincidence that sacred and profane often end up merging in rituals that symbolize natural cycles, the struggle between good and evil, the sacredness of bread that comes from the earth. In this territory there are many traditions that in this sense reaffirm its identity and that represent a moment of strong social cohesion, which is repeated cyclically, surviving the inexorable passage of time
8 countries, 1 territorial identity
Each of these 8 municipalities has its own particularity, its own personal history, a background of places and traditions that represent it, yet it is undeniable that the people of these places share the same historical memory, lived in unison in each of the capital events that have marked the life of this valley, from the arrival of the Americans during the war, to the earthquake of '68, up to the extraordinary experience of the rediscovery of the territory that occurred thanks to Tornatore's masterpiece.
Emigration and future of the territory
Living in these places today is a choice of belonging. Emigration is historically the greatest danger for these communities, millions of Sicilians have reluctantly abandoned their land to seek fortune elsewhere, the same story of Frank Capra tells us this. Today these communities are increasingly small, yet they stoically survive thanks to the commitment of many young people who say they are proud of their origins and who work to ensure their country receives greater attention from potential visitors. The future of this territory rests precisely on their courage, on a young Sicily, which has inherited the message of those heroes, who have been able to embody the pride and beauty of the authentic Sicilian identity.
Alex Garraffa
Docufilm director
iArt FIVAS “Walls of Fame”