I recently watched two outstanding documentaries, on very current issues, even though they were released several years ago. One called «Futura», about the vision of the future held by today's youth, was co-directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Pietro Marcello and Francesco Munzi; and the other talks about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelites, titled «Of Land and Bread», and directed by the Syrian musician and filmmaker Ehab Tarabieh.
«Futura» is a beautiful compendium of young people's thinking, recorded in many places in Italy, from cinematic locations that we have seen in many films before, such as Roma, Venezia and Napoli, to neighborhoods, small towns and communities where it was probably the first time that a team of filmmakers arrived. It is an Italian film, about the voices of Italian boys and girls, but it is surprising how much they resemble young people from all over the world.
The number of testimonies is large and varied, and the opinions of the youngsters are lucid and help us understand what these young people face in the era of a dying empire, devalued public education, savage capitalism, ethical and moral crisis, which translate into unemployment, hopelessness and an understandable rebellion.
It is very illuminating to listen to them, to know their reasons, their vision of the future and to see that there is no lack of optimists even in deprivation. We older adults are accused, with good reason, of not listening to young people and, worse still, of refusing to learn new and necessary things to have a better life. It is also interesting to listen to young people from an ancient culture who express themselves and reason with order and logic and contrast with many boys and girls reduced to a poor educational level, who lack of information and the knowledge of processes, a deprivation for which the State and the private sector of the country are responsible.
Although the film is directed by three filmmakers, the voice we hear most behind the camera is that of Alice Rohrwacher, whom I admire and who does not disappoint me here. They do not fool her... In her dialogues with rich boys and girls, she confronts them and, by contrast, shows how alarming it is to know that the "future" of the title depends largely on economically favored sectors alienated by their privileges. A highly recommended documentary.
