Ambitious magistrate Vittoria (Valeria Solarino, I Can Quit Whenever I Want, LIFF14) makes the dramatic decision to relocate from the north to the south of Italy with one mission in mind – to defeat the Calabrian ‘‘Ndrangheta’ mafia. She is flabbergasted by the violence, the cruelty and the killings that Mafia men project – even youngsters are not spared. But instead of targeting the men, Vittoria tries a new approach; an appeal to the women involved in these circles. The bosses’ wives are as hard as nails; they will not talk and will not betray their powerful husbands, but could it be they have a soft spot for their own children?
This is a powerful insight into the often unacknowledged women participating in the male-dominated tug-of-war between mafia rings and the law.
*NOT SCREENING IN HOBART
Land of Saints sessions will be preceded by short film Messages from the Outside (Messaggi da fuori) dir. Alessio Pasqua.
Radio announcer Peppino becomes a middle man passing messages between family members and prison inmates, but not all messages are what they seem… Winner: Best Fiction – Genova Film Festival 2014. Courtesy of the Italian Short Film Centre.