Abito di confini

About this movie

A jacket hangs from a tree to the west, jeans hang from a tree to the east. The garments that decorate Italy's wildly different mountain borders are probably the only thing they have in common. Few have witnessed both. Those that have can perhaps understand the country in ways the rest of us can't. This is one of the most visited nations in the world, with 65 million international tourists expected in 2024, now exceeding the resident population for the first time. Neighbouring France surpasses even Italy, with over 100 million arriving. The vast ski resort that straddles the border between the two exemplifies this movement, with over 10 million passages recorded in a winter. Its lifts carry those with credit across the border, legs dangling free, ski passes rather than passports, so they can glide back down over the snow that's sprayed each night. Not all are welcome. A few try to cross the same border with their own legs, but they trudge through the snow, sinking into it, at risk of being pushed back by the police who hunt them. They climb higher and higher to avoid contact, often at night, hoping to one day find a place to stay. Many have already crossed the desolate ruin of the abandoned Karst mountains, and have seen glimpses of Trieste, Venice, Verona, Garda, Milan and Turin, some of the world's most desirable destinations - but in the end Italy was not their destination. Italy was no place for them. This film traces a humble journey across famous but unfamiliar lands, asking what such a perspective reveals about these dramatically changing landscapes. The juxtaposition of the two mountain ranges, abruptly connected by this precarious journey, creates for us a kind of prism that poses urgent questions about our parallel lives and collective values. It's often called the 'migrant route', but is it only those migrating that find themselves in unrecognizable places, or are we all in transit along the consumer route?

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