WORK IN PROGRESS – FILM

VIVO QUI is a feature length series of moving image portraits in the area of Reggio Calabria in contemporary Southern Italy. Plants, animals, land, trees, insects, fire, drought and water exist amongst Calabrians who are leaving their ancestral villages for better economic prospects in bigger cities and other countries. More recent arrivals from Sub-Saharan African countries, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, flee war, poverty, human trafficking and political oppression, coexisting in these small villages and cities. New residents, long-term residents and care workers share feelings and stories of place, governance, obstacles and inspirations.

People speak back to historic sites and monuments of their own choosing. Wishes. Intentions. Demands.

Airplanes fly overhead dropping water. Sheep move over steep hills in large groups. Children play on rocks. A cat decays at an ancient Greek tomb. Debris washes ashore. Bees pollinate flowers. Mt. Etna shivers and smokes in the distance.

Cinematographer: Maurizio Albanese. Editor: Jeannie Simms. Assistant Editor: Jack Gruman. Additional editing and translation: Suwebat Solebo.