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ROMEFILMFEST Italy

Costanza’s young immigrants

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The invisible faces and unheard voices of still adolescent immigrants who come to Italy from every part of the world, each with their own different story, but all sharing the search for a dignified life are those that Costanza Quatriglio decided to look at and listen to, and in investigating and spending time in Rome’s shelters for immigrant minors, has given life to The Weight of the World (Il mondo addosso), a documentary presented in the Extra section of the RomeFilmFest that, due to its theme, was supported by UNICEF from the start of its development.

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“I was interested in showing that submerged world of young immigrants who travel alone and whose lives pass practically unobserved by all”, explained the Sicilian director, whose focus on the world of children and the marginalised is not new, and has characterised her documentaries as well as her debut feature The Island, presented at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight and released theatrically in a number of countries, including France.

“I realised how our country is still profoundly unequipped to receive minors, whose process of integration is very difficult.” Said Quatriglio. “Rome seemed to me to be the most organised for these situations: the children are taken into the custody of the city”.

Shot from November 2005 to March 2006, The Weight of the World was rather difficult to produce, stated the director, “but we were able to make it on a low budget by Rean Mazzone’s Dream Film and Ila Palma because they very much believed in the project".

The documentary’s international sales are being handled by Dream Film, which has just closed television negations with RAI Tre. The film was furthermore backed by the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Audiences at the RomeFilmFest will be able to see the film at 8:30 on October 19 at the Auditorium’s Teatro Studio.

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(Translated from Italian)

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