Volevo Nascondermi (Hidden Away), directed by Giorgio Dritti (2020, 120’)
From Friday, March 4 at 1:00pm CT through Monday, March 7 at 1:00pm CT
Toni, son of an Italian immigrant—who was deported to Italy from Switzerland, where he experienced a difficult childhood—lives in a shed on the bank of Po river. The encounter with sculptor Renato Marino Mazzacurati propels his redemption journey, during which painting becomes a medium to build his own identity. “El Tudesc” (the German) as people call him, is a solitary man, emaciated, ugly, often mocked and humiliated. He becomes an imaginative painter, drawing a fantasy world of tigers, gorillas and jaguars, all from the river banks. Overwhelmed by a regime who wants to obliterare people like him, and by his own anguish, he is sent to an asylum. Above all, Toni paints himself, as to confirm his desire to exist beyond his childhood rejections. The turning point comes when he leaves the asylum, toward his redemption and the public recognition of his talent. Over time, Toni’s art becomes a gift for his entire community, the gift of his differences.
Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
Reserve access to the screening at this link