In this gripping and poignant documentary, director Enza Negroni takes us inside the Bologna correctional facility where inmates engage in an uncommon form of rehabilitation while serving out their sentences: rugby. The men of team Giallo Dozza, many of whom have never played the game before, submit to bouts of rigorous training and will brave any weather to prove their perseverance and drive while competing against veteran Italian rugby teams visiting from the outside. Their tough but big-hearted leader is Max, a coach whose lessons of endurance, discipline, mutual respect, and unity extend far beyond the field. For these inmates, the sport becomes a microcosm of life on the outside, and a reminder of the importance, just as in the game, to keep your head up and always be moving forward. Negroni’s raw, urgent, fly-on-the-wall shooting style sparks a palpable intimacy with the detainees, whose immersion in the sport unexpectedly changes their lives, and prepares them for unforeseeable challenges ahead. –
Jesse Ryan KnightCo-presented by
Department of Italian Studies, UC Berkeley.