Our Story
On the 6th of April 2009 a powerful earthquake hit the city of L'Aquila, in Italy, causing heavy damage and making at least 70.000 people homeless. In the video you can see the village of Onna, one of the most damaged. Since then we have been dedicated to help people living in L'Aquila and its province, documenting everything on our blog, Terremoto09 (Google Translate can really be your friend here). Our primary goal is and has always been helping L'Aquila, hoping to see it soar again one day... did you know L'Aquila means "The Eagle"? Just like the eagle that fellow Americans have on their Great Seal.
The Impact
This earthquake has been exploited by the Italian government for propaganda, and the media never really told us the truth about what has been going on over there. Politicians have been telling lies about the help the Government gave L'Aquila. The result is that most Italian people gravely underestimate the situation, believe things are really getting better and reconstruction efforts have began. This is why L'Aquila is mostly forgotten and isn't getting the so much needed press and help. We decided to shoot a documentary to illustrate the real situation. Our only agenda is the truth: we want L'Aquila in the spotlight again, we want people to know, and we want people to help. The people of L'Aquila have been fighting for years for their rights and their beloved "Eagle" city. We won't leave them alone.
What We Need & What You Get
Basically, what we need is money to pay for the shooting: everything we collect will be spent on gear, logistics and accommodation (which, by the way, will be in a former psychiatric hospital in L'Aquila, in tents). Even if we don't reach our goal, the money we get will still be spent on the documentary. We strongly believe in this project, and if you want to take part in this, this is what you'll get, beside our gratitude:
10 $ - a mention in the ending credits
25 $ - credit as a supporter in the dvd, and a free copy of the documentary
50 $ - credit as a supporter in the dvd, and a free copy of the documentary and of the screenplay
100 $ - special thanks in the dvd, and a free copy of the documentary and of the screenplay
500 $ - you'll be credited as coproducer, get a free copy of the documentary and of the screenplay, and a Skype call from the crew
Obviously the documentary will have English subtitles.
Ottocentoquarantanove. Eight hundred forty-nine.
Two years after the earthquake on 6th April 2009 which devastated the city and province of Aquila, we return to that land.
With eyes filled with images which are now old, and brains full of reassurances, supported by the silence which surrounds the subject, we are going to see how things really are.
In spite of other documentaries that want to make a point, this documentary yearns to understand a distant reality which is light years away from the daily life of the rest of Italy.
Understand.
Understand what happened.
Understand what is happening now.
Understand what has happened in these past two years, for the most part spent in silence.
In order to carry this out, we rely on first hand accounts from the people who lived through this event and who must struggle every day to regain pieces of normalcy, which ends up being the greatest collective wish.
The people of Aquila demonstrate, through their attempts to return to be a small town community, what it means to live in that land which now seems part of a parallel reality. Normalcy, alongside L'Aquila's reality, makes the latter seem like another state or alien planet which we intend to explore.
The voice of the people, often absent in most other documentaries or news reports, becomes the protagonist able to guide us and clarify the numerous doubts that lie around the Aquilan case.
Directed by:
Francesca Bonettini
Screenplay by
Valentino Mastella e Francesca Bonettini
