Milan (Bovisa) (John Foot)
Story of a house: Piazzale Lugano 22 (documentary: London/Milan, 2004, 53 minutes). Black and White and Colour. Italian. Subtitles in English.
Versione italiana di questa pagina
Director: John Foot
Editing and Camera: Dan Sayer
Original Music : Alberto Morelli
This film, based on oral history interviews, documentary research and participant observation, looks at the history of Milan through the story of a working class apartment block. Memories of change and discourses relating to the past are linked to the neighbourhood through interviews, photographs, super8 and archive film and maps.
A fresco of lost worlds emerges - the courtyard, the rural past, the Visconti villa, childhood - which are linked to deep social and cultural change (the factory and the working class). The film also analyses the changes to specific places in the neighbourhood - factories which have become office blocks, universities, shops or simply rubble. The film looks to understand and relate the difficult relationship of Milan with its recent past, and builds on the analysis in John Foot's book Milan since the Miracle. City, Culture and Identity (Berg, 2001) published in Italian as Milano dopo il miracolo. Biografia di una citta (Feltrinelli, 2003).
Film Chapters:
Chapter Sample image 1 Residents 2 Children and the Courtyard 3 Memories of a Rural Past 4 Lost Places. The Visconti Villa 5 Factories and Workers 6 Casa di ringhiera 7 Transformations 8 The last strawberries The film is available in DVD or VHS format from John Foot.
