On August 12, 2012, the municipality of Affile (near Rome) erected a monument dedicated to Rodolfo Graziani, a fascist general during the 1935 Ethiopian War and first viceroy of the colony. Ethiopians across the world protested. Some of his hometown compatriots still see him as a hero, while Ethiopians and many Italians revile Graziani for the war crimes he and others committed in support of Mussolini’s imperial ambitions. Director Valerio Ciriaci expertly interweaves different points of view, ordinary life stories, and archival photographs, searching for history’s repercussions as well as the facts. The film’s three main interviewees are complex and fascinating characters: Mulu Ayele, an Ethiopian Italian activist, host of a radio show, and a straight shooter who provides her community with news and information about the protests; Mauro Canali, a self-made historian living in Ethiopia, who never feels alone in that country, because he “feels the presence of the Italians who were here;” and Nicola Antonio DeMarco, a New Yorker, who is active in reconciliation and outreach efforts and whose Italian grandfather moved to Africa as a pawn in Mussolini’s plans. This thoughtful documentary (with excellent sound design) takes us on journey through the tangible and symbolic remains of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. From the last century to the present, Ciriaci brings to life this overlooked legacy, which even now haunts the fates of two nations and their people.
Valerio Ciriaci is expected to attendCopresented by SF DocFest