Southern Italy’s Petronarratives: A Few Notes on Contemporary Italian Ecodocumentaries

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Abstract

This chapter examines the history of industrialism in Southern Italy, the consequences for the ecosystem, and how contemporary Italian documentary filmmakers are portraying this situation. What might have offered the potential of fostering the industrial development of Basilicata and Sicily, and of the whole South (historically the poorest area in Italy), has given rise to political corruption, health hazards, and environmental negligence. Areas traditionally devoted to agriculture, animal husbandry, and tourism have been devastated by the recklessness of the oil industry with the complacency of the Italian state. In this chapter, I will concentrate on documentaries by Christian Bonatesta (Il sogno di zio Ciano, 2008), Antonio Bellia (Crimini di pace, 2003), Valeria Castellano (Nero d’Italia, 2013), and Gianfranco Pannone (Pietre, miracoli e petrolio, 2004). I will discuss how their petrodocumentaries portray what journalist Dommarco dubbed the “Italian paradox,” that is, the attempt to reconcile industrialism and the preservation of nature, progress, and respect toward local residents and their culture.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Basilicata and Southern Italy between Film and Ecology

First Page

211

Last Page

231

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