Dreams of the Salt Lake
Trailer [it]
by Andrea Segre
Kazakhstan today is enjoying a boom not unlike that of post-war Italy. Growth stands at 6%, driven mainly by the exploitation of oil and gas reserves, in which Italy’s energy conglomerate ENI is a key player. Traveling between Aktau and Astana, from the oil-rich steppes to the hyper-modern new capital, the film gives a voice to farmers, shepherds and young women whose lives have been turned upside down by the arrival of the big multinationals. Images of the Eurasian steppes and the immense spaces of the post-Soviet landscape intertwine with footage from 1960s Italy, taken from both the ENI archive and the personal collection of the director’s parents, who were young boomers during the Italian economic miracle of those years.