La Fabbrica dell'Assoluto, 2018

Industrial ruins as a means to connect past and future

Does our society need just productivity or does it also need beauty? And what is the role of art creation in the era of mass production?While today we seem able to produce everything, something appears to be missing: in the digital era we have lost materiality, appreciation for plasticity, and the ability to use our hands. Most of our interaction with the world is contained in the flatness of a computer screen. Is our future to become alienated from the physical world? Today, we have the opportunity to re-connect our hands with matter, to build something which is real, has depth, and feels the effect of time - something like us: something human.

Entirely shot in Palermo in March 2018, at the Zisa Cultural Yards, which were transformed from abandoned industrial premises into a thriving cultural hub, which today hosts the Arts Academy and several other cultural institutions. The film covers the topic of industrial ruination not only from a perspective of collective past memories, but also as a signifier of our future path.

The film was realised by invitation of the Honorary Consulate of Czech Republic in Palermo.

La Fabbrica dell’Assoluto - Film duration 6:29, Italian narration

Images from the premiere

The film was premiered at Center of Experimental Cinematography in Palermo on the 26th of October 2018, after the masterclass held by the author “Investigating reality through images”.

Presenting the film with Andrea Marchione, Honorary Consul of Czech Republic in Palermo (centre) and Ivan Scinardo, Director of Experimental Centre of Cinematography in Sicily (right), in the White Projection Room at the CSC in Palermo.

Technical Specifications

Video Format: 1920 × 800
Audio Formats: Stereo with narrating voice in Italian and English languages
Running time: 6m 29s

Credits and Contributions

Assistant Photography: Sabrina Butera
Music: Mario Crispi
Italian narrating voice: Riccardo Mei
English narrating voice: Danilo De Rossi
Executive Assistant: Laura Di Nitto
Production: Studio Danilo De Rossi
Supported by the Honorary Consulate of Czech Republic in Sicily

Special thanks to:

The Municipality of Palermo
Ivan Scinardo and all the staff of Experimental Centre of Cinematography in Palermo
Paolo Grassino and Daniele Franzella, at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Arts
All the students of the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Arts academic year 2017-2018
Filippo Pistoia and all the staff at Cre.Zi.Plus
Juan Pable Chrichton Subercaseux
Alfonso Almendros
Faraz Alam for Celluloid Drapers