Volevo solo vivere
I Only Wanted To Live
Je voulais seulement vivre
United States / Italy / Switzerland, January 2006
FILM,
Documentary,
75 min.
- directed by
- Mimmo Calopresti
- Status
- In distribution
The journey of nine Italian citizens, survivors of deportation and incarceration in the death camps of Auschwitz. Nine stories which enable us to retrace the key periods of this haunted experience: the Fascist government's enactment of racial laws in 1938, futile attempts at escape, deportation, the separation of families, miraculous survival at Auschwitz, liberation when Allied soldiers arrive at the gates of the camp in 1945... These words, which we may not be hearing for the first time, describe with extraordinary vividness and powerful lucidity, the various details of these experiences, both intimate and universal, almost always tragic and cruel. Testimonies which, at times, reveal remarkable feelings of tenderness and compassion, as well as moments of surprising happiness. “We'll always be there, at Auschwitz”, says Nedo Fiano, the lone member of his family to survive the camps. Mimmo Calopresti made this film after screening and choosing among hundreds of testimonies in the Italian archives of USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, as well as film and photo archives from personal albums of the survivors. “Editing down hundreds of hours of testimony... Mimmo Calopresti crafts a simple, straightforward and devastating portrait of nine Italian Jews deported to Auschwitz, each recounting wrenching memories with searing clarity... (relying) on the testimony of survivors, interspersed with archival footage, to bring home the unfathomable human toll far more effectively.” Jay Weissberg (Variety)
credits
- World Premiere
- January 2006
- Original Version
- Italian, colour and b/w, 35mm, 75 min.
- Production
- USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, Gagé Produzioni Piccola Cooperativa Gagé, Wildside Media, RAI Cinema, ventura film sa, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera
- Producer
- Mimmo Calopresti, Laurence Hoffmann, Mark Edwards
- directed by
- Mimmo Calopresti
- Editing
- Massimo Fiocchi, Valerio Quintarelli
- Re-Recording Mix
- Gianluca Carbonelli
- Music
- Rachel's, Federico Badaloni
- Location Sound Mix
- Gianluca Carbonelli
World Sales / World Rights
- World Sales
- Playtime
Worldwide Distribution
- Italy
- O1 Distribution Distribution
- Switzerland
- Frenetic Films Distribution
Festivals
(a selection)
-
Solothurn, Solothurner Filmtage
21.01.2008 - 27.01.2008 -
Montréal, 30e Festival des Films du Monde Montréal
24.08.2006 - 04.09.2006