Bertha DocHouse Presents Italian Documentaries at Bi-annual Film Season

Los Angeles, CA (January, 2, 2024). Following the inaugural season in June 2023. The second ITALIAN DOC SEASON returns to London’s Bertha DocHouse 27 – 28 January 2024. This two-day celebration of Italian film will present three relevant and acclaimed documentaries to London audiences. The films in this season focus sharply on topics that resonate in Italy and around the world. The current migrant crisis, the impact that automation and artificial intelligence may have on our future lives. An historical analysis of the ascent of fascism in 1930s Italy that also holds a mirror to the now. The result is thought-provoking documentary cinema at its purest and best. The season comprises:

UK Premiere: PURE UNKNOWN + Q&A
Dir: Valentina Cocogna, Mattia Colombo
Every night nameless bodies land in Dr Cristina Cattaneo’s autopsy room. She calls them the Pure Unknown. They often belong to the fringes of society: homeless, sex workers, runaway teenagers. Lately, they have mostly been migrants, rejected by the Mediterranean Sea onto the shores of Italy. In the face of this growing multitude, no one seems concerned about their right to dignity. No-one but Cristina. This powerful and topical film won the Audience Award at Biografilm Festival. (Sat 27 Jan)

UK Premiere: AFTER WORK + Q&A
Dir: Erik Gandini
Every In the next 15 years, it is estimated that about half of the workforce will be replaced by automation and artificial intelligence. Are we ready for this change? What will it entail on an existential level? What will we do when we no longer have to work? Through the direct experiences of its protagonists in four emblematic nations – Kuwait, South Korea, USA and Italy – After Work explores what could be the new work ethic, compatible with a future ‘work free existence’. This acclaimed and thought-provoking film by Swedish-Italian filmmaker Erik Gandini features a range of voices, from Elon Musk to an Amazon delivery driver. (Sat 27 Jan)

Special screening + extended Q&A: THE MARCH ON ROME
Dir: Mark Cousins
Through little-seen archive and his characteristically cinematic analysis, Mark Cousins narrates the ascent of fascism in Italy and its fall-out across 1930s Europe. Both essay film and historical document, Cousins contextualises history through the now, holding a mirror to a political landscape of a creeping far right and manipulated media. With Alba Rohrwacher portraying a disillusioned mother, and with the inclusion of contemporary footage of Donald Trump, the latest documentary by this multi-award-winning director and writer has won awards at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and São Paulo Film Festival. After the screening, joining director Mark Cousins for an extended Q&A to discuss the use of archive in contemporary documentary filmmaking will be Cecilia Spano (Collection Management and International Promotion, Archivo Luce-Cinecittà), panellist tbc (BFI Archives). Moderated by Sam Blair (Documentarist and Tutor at NFTS). (Sun 28 Jan).

Bertha DocHouse director and programmer Jenny Horwell says: “We’re excited to bring three such compelling films, all by directors whose work never fails to intrigue and inform, to London audiences.”

Bertha DocHouse
began in October 2002 as a weekly screening programme showing brilliant international documentaries at cinemas around London. In 2010, we joined forces with Bertha Foundation, and thanks to their extraordinary support, in March 2015 we were able to open the Bertha DocHouse screen – our 55-seat dedicated documentary cinema housed in the Curzon Bloomsbury. We aim to celebrate the depth and breadth of the documentary form, showcasing films that you won’t see anywhere else, festival favourites, themed seasons, retrospective screenings, as well as the very best new releases. 

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