Cinemovel Foundation

Cinema against mafia

Ettore Scola in Paris for the European premiere of Libero Cinema in Libera Terra and a message by Luigi Ciotti.

Starting from the seventh edition, Libero Cinema in Libera Terra went outside Italy and toured other Europen countries. On June 23 and 24 2012 the caravan went to Paris with Ettore Scola, Pasquale Scimeca and Robert Guédiguian for a preview of the Festival, consisting of two days of film screenings, meetings and tasting of produce farmed by the cooperative Libera Terra in the lands seized from mafia and returned to legality. Introducing Placido Rizzotto to the audience of the Esplanade Pierre Vidal Naquet, 13th arrondissement, Ettore Scola described mafia as <a malady of men> and stressed the fact that mafia infiltration is an issue that plagues all countries.

Scimeca’s film, together with its protagonist Placido Rizzotto, are important aspects of the cinema caravan; we screened this film during our first event in Portella della Ginestra in 2006 and the first cooperative of Libera Terra is named after the trade-unionist from Corleone. The projection in Paris was symbolic also because it occurred just a few months after the body of Rizzotto, who had been killed by mafia in 1948, was finally recovered.

The following evening saw the screening of Ettore Scola’s short film ‘43/’97  at the Mairie, 13th arrondissement; this screening was a premiere for the French audience and a reminder of the magic of life-saving films.

Luigi Ciotti was not able to join us in Paris, so he sent the following letter:

Dearest all, Dear Ettore Scola,

I am really saddened that I can’t be there with you, friends of Cinemovel, that, through art, support with generosity, competence and passion the commitment of people that invest in the future of a land freed from mafia.
Experience has taught us that laws are not sufficient in the fight against mafia; indignation alone isn’t enough either.
It is necessary that laws, commitment and indignation become embedded in culture in order to generate actual results of legality. The extraordinary merit of cinema is precisely this: to permeate our culture with a sense of condemnation, as well as with education to a sense of civic obligation.
As children say, TV is small but cinema is big. And not just because of the size of the screen, but also because big men can help us see real life as it is, while we often find it difficult to observe it. Cinema is great not only because it takes a picture of real life, but also because it leads us into it. Cinema gets us involved in building commitment and in spending energy to transform and improve the world.
We know that a film can make us better persons and can saw seeds of change which can turn from culture into ethics and everyday life. I believe that even cinema can make a country big; directors and other professionals in the field of cinema can improve the social fabric in which we live. I won’t be able to be with you, but I wish to thank you for the precious and indispensable service that you provide.
I wish you to continue in this journey because even mafia sometimes fear more a good film than the announcement of a repressive law.
A big hug, Luigi Ciotti

Rome, June 22 2012


Nel 2013 la carovana di cinema contro le mafie torna a Parigi grazie alla raccolta fondi lanciata sul portale KissKissBankBank. L’ottava edizione di Libero Cinema in Libera Terra si chiude il 10 e l’11 ottobre agli Atelier Varan: film, cortometraggi, incontri con Daniele Vicari, Daniele Incalcaterra, Claude Guisard, Fabrizio Grosoli, Maria Chiara Prodi, Ludovic Michel. Le tappe parigine sono previste anche per il 2014.


Galleria fotografica