Guerre et Paix

Guerra e pace tells the story of the relationship between cinema and war, one that has lasted for over a century, from the time of their first encounter, way back in 1911, on the occasion of the Italian invasion of Libya, to our own day. From the sequences filmed by the pioneers of cinema to today’s videos shot on smartphones by ordinary citizens all over the world, the step appears very short and the relationship between the movies and war a very strong one. Guerra e pace is a reflection on images and, as in a long novel divided into four chapters (remote past, recent past, present and future), tries to put all the pieces of the fragmented visual memory from the early years of the 20th century until today back together, highlighting the multiplication of visions that now accompany our lives, like constant background noise. Four important European institutions host the narration of our film and constitute its solid spatiotemporal framework. A framework in which peace and war seem to coexist and keep each other at bay. Guerra e pace raises questions about the consequences of war and about the meaning of history and the preservation of its memory for the benefit of future generations.