The Song of Aida

In 2002, I shot my first film in a Romanian Roma family living in a shack camp on the outskirts of Bari. Twenty years later, this family still lives in a shack. The couple who at the time were the protagonists of the film are now running for the municipal elections for the center-left. Their daughter, Aida, in 2002 was a smiling teenager, in love with DiCaprio and dreaming of becoming a model and a singer. Today, she is a mother and a wife. She suffers from depression. She wants a divorce and for that reason she’s is in conflict with her family. She has also had problems with the law after being arrested for theft. This film is, above all, the story of her struggle for emancipation, independence, and a new life outside the camp. The film shows several images of the past, many of which have never been seen before, and that were also shot in the years 2008 and 2014. There are also poetic animations to better illustrate the imagination of the protagonists.