In Italy in the 1960s, there was the promise of a connected future. The state-of-the-art Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway has been unveiled and described as one of the most important Italian and European engineering works. The goal: to connect the country’s economically distressed south to the financially healthier, more advanced north.
However, as seems to be the case with many infrastructure projects, things did not go as rosy as advertised. Far from it. The promises made were “as large as the project,” as a synopsis of the story highlights Terenicaa documentary directed by director and director of photography Rosario Minervini, delves into the stories of people living along the fringes of the highway to “reveal southern Italy beyond stereotypes.”
World premiere in the Newcomers Documentary Competition lineup at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece on Tuesday, March 10, TerenicaA novel that travels between the present and the past. Among the people viewers meet is a man who, after losing his job after 12 years, has become a shepherd and lives in a caravan without water and electricity. Among others, people are also shown salvaging and repairing discarded objects and practicing target shooting, as is the case with Francesca, who fights for civil rights.
The press notes for the film describe them as revolutionary, hoarder, shepherd, and sniper.
As the film unfolds, the film explores how the massive highway project, which took more than 60 years to complete, has become synonymous with the areas it connects, from the outskirts of Naples to Salerno, but “for all the wrong reasons,” as the film’s synopsis highlights. It also exposes “the structural pathologies of the Italian state like no other, effectively confirming the narrative of a ‘two-speed country.'” Through a startling comparison between the expectations of yesterday and the mundane reality of those born and raised under an illusory project, Rosario Minervini dissects the clinical precision of the delays that have burdened Italy’s collective psyche over time.
Or Kminervini, who works as artistic director of the documentary department at the Giffoni Film Festival. In the director’s statement, he says:Terenica It is an observational film that explores southern Italy beyond cultural clichés. Set along the Salerno-Reggio Calabria Highway, the film reveals a visual and emotional journey through the lives of those who inhabit its margins. This iconic road becomes a connecting thread connecting stories of isolation, survival and quiet resistance.
THR A trailer can now be exclusively revealed for Terenica. The film may be in Italian, but it features a mix of current and archival footage, colorful characters, and the film’s music. So, get ready for a trip to southern Italy and see a side of Italy that promises to be completely different from what tour guides tell you and show you.
